Raspberries's Profile
Best Beef Stroganoff in L.A.?
Go to Warszawa in Santa Monica; their stroganoff is served with spaetzle.
-----
Warszawa Restaurant
1414 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90401
Scoops Westside Open
So is it open today then or closed to make fixes to pass inspection? Sorry, I can't seem to find a phone number to check.
Looking for great pies.
+1
I called about a week ago, and they said that they're done with fresh fruit pies for now, though they are offering seasonal pumpkin pies.
Where can I find Bananas Foster?
Dal Rae in Pico Rivera
-----
Dal Rae
9023 E. Washington Blvd., Pico Rivera, CA 90660
ISO sparkling sugar and edible glitter (for a cake)
Surfas carries some luster dusts and edible glitter, and sanding sugar, but you're better off going to Gloria's Cake and Candy Supplies in West LA or Kake Kreations in Canoga Park.
What kinds of tips on useage do you need? What specific effects are you trying to achieve with the glitter?
-----
Canoga Cafe
6200 Canoga Ave, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
Gioia Cheese Co.... current factory prices for fresh handmade mozzarella, ricotta and burrata
Just picked up a 1 pound tub of Gioia burrata for $5.98 from Bay Cities.
Westminster Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwich
Gala Bakery, 2 locations. A teeny bit pricier than some of the others, but well worth it.
-----
Gala Bakery
14570 Brookhurst St, Westminster, CA 92683
advice on chopping chocolate into chunks for cookies
Nuke it in the microwave in 5-second blasts on high just till it's not quite brittle but not till it's soft or melted at all. I use the same bars for everyday cookies, and it works great. Then, use a big, sharp chef's knife to cut them first in one direction, into strips, then the other, into cubes. Voila: perfect little chunks, no chocolate dust.
undecorated gingerbread houses????
Costco in Culver City had them in stock, packaged pre-constructed, with icing and candy decorations included, for about $10. (Super if your kids want to dive into decorating right away and don't want to wait for royal icing to set from house construction before starting.) Not sure if they're still in stock. Michael's has the Wilton (I think) kits, which come with baked gingerbread that you'd have to assemble and decorate, again with icing and some candy included,
Have fun!
New Soup Hag needs soup ideas for 200 kids - Help, Hounds!
I'm officially a Soup Hag: I volunteered at my daughter's elementary school to help prepare soup for the kids for lunch. I was unaware that this meant that I would be prepping, cooking and serving soup to 200 elementary school students in three different lunch seatings, on my own.
Here are the specifics:
I have use of the school cafeteria from 9:15 am on on the day I will be preparing soup. The first lunch is served at 11:40 am.
There are a number of parents participating. Each will have one soup/ stew/ chili that he/she will prepare for his/ her rotation. The recipes have to be fairly simple, as we're dependent on the district to provide the food. All ingredients not provided by the district will be provided by moi.
Ideally, the soup I choose will (a) be kid-friendly - this is elementary school aged kids; (b) not be crazy prep heavy - I make great beef and barley, but something like two dozen fresh veggies go into it - not gonna happen here, not with this kind of volume; (c) not require a ton of time to simmer as I've got full use of the kitchen for not quite 2.5 hours, including all prep time. Please no simmer-all-day recipes or make-the-day-before-and-reheat recipes; (d) not be very expensive, as I have no idea how much the school district will provide and how much will come out of my pocket and I'll be doing this all too regularly; (e) use pretty basic ingredients - one mom has said that she brings her own stock as the school district stuff is cheap MSG-laden stuff. I know I'll be bringing my own stock already, I'd rather not be doing wind sprints between my car and the cafeteria with bags and boxes of stuff; (f) be somewhat healthy/ wholesome (nothing with half-and-half as a base, for example) and nourishing enough that the kids'll be satisfied with soup for lunch; (g) not be delicate or temperamental - no bases prone to breakage, please; (h) contain no pork; and (i) did I mention kid friendly?
Here are the soups some of the other Hags are making:
-corn chowder
-turkey chili
-butternut squash
-chicken, leek and potato chowder
I considered doing albondigas (what kid doesn't love meatballs?) but not sure if I want to be making hundreds of meatballs by my lonesome. I feed large crowds frequently, so the idea of cooking in volume doesn't bother me. I'm fairly proficient in a kitchen and am quick with prep work... I'm just stuck for ideas. My 5-year old's favorite food is uni - most of her friends won't touch a vegetable.
TIA, Hounds!
Cake pop freezing question plus fondant storage issue
I have made any number of cake pops before, frozen them, and had no problems. As a matter of fact, I have a batch in the freezer right now. (I always have a batch in the freezer as an emergency dessert or snack. I prefer eating them frozen anyway.) Typically, I freeze only plain pops, covered in tempered chocolate. As far as freezing heavily decorated pops go, especially with a base coat of white, I'd be a little cautious. When the pops come to room temp, there's going to be condensation and the decorations (I'm not sure if you're using sprinkles, sanding sugar, fondant, gumpaste, etc) might be ill affected. If, for instance, you're using red sprinkles, the color could run. Fondant and gumpaste shouldn't be frozen at all - the condensation would "melt" either. Maybe you want to make them and freeze them plain, then defrost, then decorate?
As far as fondant decorations go, making them ahead of time, two weeks or more, is perfectly fine. EXCEPT that it sounds like you want to keep it soft. Fondant dries out quickly. Even rolling it out to cover a cake, you've got to work quickly. If you lollygag, you'd get cracks. Within the course of an hour or so, a small decoration (like a thin cut-out) would be completely dry and brittle and would certainly break if you tried to bend it.
What kind of decorations do you need to do with fondant? If it’s something that you could use hard (often, it’s much easier to use then, particularly if you’re inexperienced with it), I’d give yourself lots of time to let it dry completely – not in an airtight container – and then use royal icing or gum paste glue to anchor it to whatever you need (or, set it directly onto buttercream). Keep it out of bright light, so it won't fade.
Let me know if you have any other questions -
Sam's restaurant in Santa Monica
Just went last Thursday for the first time and was pleasantly surprised. We went in a party of 8, all girls, for a friend's birthday. Had the rack of lamb special, which was nicely cooked, with a punchy mustard sauce (that might have been a little over assertive for some in our party). Veggie accompaniments were fresh, if a bit overdone. Others in our party had the salmon (she liked it), a bouillabaisse sort of dish (I sampled a mussel - again, fine), soup and salads all around as starters. It was all fair to good, if not great. If I went again, I'd definitely order the lamb again. The desserts chosen were: profiteroles, apple tarte tatin (meh - overcooked apples and puff pastry), hazelnut-chocolate mousse cake and creme brulee. Nothing mind blowing nor offensive.
Some flavors spotted at SCOOPS today...
Came back with 6 pints: 2 of sea salt malt, 1 each of black currant + lime, cranberry + guava, hazelnut + chai, and banana + irish cream. I passed on the pomegranate + yuzu. Just barely. And just because I'd already gotten six pints (and the friend I was there with had gotten four) and was afraid I was going to be stoned by the throng of people behind me. (I was there less than an hour till closing time.)
This joins the half-eaten pints of cinnamon + stout and mocha + almond in my freezer.
3 trips in 8 days at 50 miles per round trip. *sigh*
Addiction is a terrible thing.
Some flavors spotted at SCOOPS today...
Whoohoo! Thanks. Heading out tonight, nice to know what's there.
Lavender Ice Cream
Not in a market atmosphere and not close to downtown, but so good it deserves a mention in case you're ever on the westside: Go to Anisette. Not sure if the lavender ice cream is the same as the stuff he was serving at Lavande over ten years ago, but it's awfully good.
If you get to Scoops on a day when they have Honey Lavender there, do yourself a favor and buy 5 pints. I wish I had.
Vietnamese Sizzling Crepe a la No Reservations
Go to Van's Restaurant on Brookhurst or Banh Cuon Tay Ho for banh xeo. My two faves in Little Saigon.
Knife Sharpening Where Should I Go?
I just got my knives back from Ross. They sure know their stuff - they were able to tell me, from looking at my knives, who had been sharpening them previously. Now, my knives are crazy, samurai sharp. Highly recommend.
ISO Frozen Passionfruit Pulp from Latino Markets?
I've seen several recipes using frozen passionfruit pulp with notations that it's available at Latino markets? I've always "pulped" my own but am feeling too lazy (and cheap). Has anyone ever used this? How is it compared to fresh? Can anyone tell me of a good Latino store where I could go to find it? (the closer to the Westside the better)
TIA!
Explorations on Brookhurst: Com Tam Thuan Kieu
Glad you enjoyed - next time, get the thit nuong (grilled pork) also - it's better than the suong nuong (grilled pork chop) here - it's very good. I usually get tau hu ky, thit nuong, cha gio (egg rolls - they have two variations, a shrimp eggroll and the traditional meat eggroll), bi and cha. Also, the nem cuong here is probably my favorite in all of Little Saigon. I much prefer it to Brodard's.
There's another location on Bolsa and Magnolia that I prefer. It's a few doors down from Che Cali, so you can stop in for che khoai mon (the only thing I get from Che Cali, as opposed to Hien Kanh) - and Van's Bakery is down a few doors the other way.
An Open Letter to Blackmarket Bakery
Next time, try Final Touch Bakery. Owned by Stephanie Dinh, long before she opened S Fine Dining. Best of all the Little Saigon bakeries by a clear mile.
the quest for cobbler
hm, odd. Not a hint of an oat or anything resembling a crust to be found anywhere.
Kevin, the fried chicken was the meal's only saving grace. Certainly not good enough to warrant a return visit, but actually better than decent. (I'm a dark meat girl, though, so boneless, skinless chicken breast is a little wrong to me.) If you go, do NOT get the pork chop, under any circumstances.
the quest for cobbler
you know, the server did recommend the blackberry enthusiastically, over the peach. I've just been having so many blackberry desserts I just couldn't do it.
Is there pastry, crust, crumble on the blackberry cobbler? The meal was so poor, I doubt we'd go back to try it (especially with blackberry bushes all around our yard and happy cobbler-making hands), but wondering if mine was some kind of fluke?
a cakemonkey thank you
It think their pie slicing contraption thing slices it into five generous slices. So, no, not *really* huge.
18"? Now that's impressive
the quest for cobbler
Here's one NOT to try: Cynthia's on Montana in SM.
Went tonight. Dinner was complete waste of time and tummy space. But that's another story. Had higher hopes for dessert.
They had two cobbler options: blackberries and peach. Having made a blackberry cobbler a few days ago, I opted for the peach. It was, possibly, the worst "cobbler" I've ever, EVER eaten. Seriously, significantly worse than a frozen Marie Callendars cobbler. It was served warm in a pretty good-sized individual ramekin. There were maybe just over half a dozen mushy slivers of peach in it. They were swimming in a soupy, liquid mess. No body to it. It was greasy without having any great butter flavor. The predominant flavor was salt, with this weird, sour-metallic aftertaste. I love salt. But this was ridiculously over the top salty. The worst part? There was no proper pastry on it. (That's why the quotation marks around "cobbler." Doesn't it have to have some kind of pastry to qualify?) What we got instead was brown sugar. In clumps. It was still gritty and granulated. With a healthy dose of salt mixed into it, as well. I wondered if they had forgotten the flour? But no, I was told, it's the way they make it. Hm.
Even my husband, who is the least particularly eater I know (so, so sad but true), found it inedible.
And it was $9. $12, then $11 with the ice cream. (They overcharged us, then corrected it.)
Yikes.
Best Thai food in LA?
On the (very) west side, in Malibu is Cholada. Solid. Very. Have travelled around Thailand a bit, all over the country, and though I wouldn't put this on par with the best Thai food I've ever had, this is my fave Thai by far in this neck of the woods.
a cakemonkey thank you
awww shucks, mollyomormon... It's good to be good at something.
Seriously, when fresh peach or fresh raspberry are in season, and you get a glistening, beautiful pie that was filled just for you (hence the perfectly flaky crust with no chance of sogginess), topped with whipped cream... Go. I dare you to eat just one piece. (If this friendship thing works out, I'd be happy to share. Or, we could always get two.)
Kevin, have eaten an entire pie in one sitting many more times than I care to remember. And look very much forward to doing it again.
Not sure when olallieberry pie is in season. BnB are on my speed dial, though. I start calling a little obsessively as the weather starts to warm up. Right now, they're only serving fresh strawberry.
ISO Best Markets for fresh Vietnamese Herbs
I'd go to A Dong Supermarket in Little Saigon. The herb selection there is vastly superior to Saigon City or ABC. As a matter of fact, if I'm grocery shopping all around Little Saigon, I'd make a special stop here just for the herbs.
GOOD Vietnamese Around Costa Mesa
Cuiriously, Banh Cuon Tay Ho serves one of the better bowls of bun rieu oc in Little Saigon. My branch of choice is on Bolsa, next to the Nextel and fabric store, just next to the Mall there.
Huong Huong or other To Go places in Little Saigon?
Huong Huong and Vien Dong are both good for egg rolls. Huong Huong will sell them to you frozen, if you want to bring them home and fry 'em up yourself, so they're super fresh. They run $25 for 50. No need to give notice, unless you want mass quantities. I've picked up 200 or so there on a whim, and they always seem available. They make them fresh there, freeze them, and fry up the frozen ones for the "fresh" ones they sell there. Freezing them keeps them from unraveling when they're fried. Van Restaurant on Brookhurst also makes good cha gio but will only sell them pre-cooked. Van also makes banh khot, a little tartlet/pancake (about the diameter of an oreo cookie) filled with coconut milk and a whole shrimp. Yum. Decent fried rice, too.
If you want non-fried salad rolls, check Com Tam Thuan Kieu, which makes nem cuon or goi cuon. (And does a much better job with nem cuon, a Brodard specialty.) They travel well - they pack these guys up rolled individually with saran wrap, kind of a pain to unwrap them all – though they don’t keep well (the crispy guy in the middle tends to get soggy after a while). They are significantly less expensive than at Brodard, I think about $1 each? Another thing to get while you’re here is the grilled pork. They par cook it and finish it on the grill with a glaze/ sauce. They’ll sell it to you par cooked with the sauce on the side, if you prefer (I always do), so you can sauce and grill yourself at home. It’s great. Just fatty enough, tender, and you can use less sauce than they do at the restaurant, as it’s a tad salty there. It’s $9/pound. Make sure you get lots – half the guests left my house with scorched fingers from eating it straight off the grill last time we had a Vietnamese BBQ. They’ll send it home for you with nuoc mam (ubiquitous lime-chili fish sauce) and pickled vegetables, if you ask for it.
If you need something to accompany the pork, pick up some banh hoi, the super thin, delicate, rice noodles formed into a little bundle/ flattened cake. You can also get it at Thuan Kieu, but if you want it super fresh, go get it from the place that supplies the restaurants and grocery stores. I forget the name, but it’s in the same strip mall as Nice Bridal, on Westminster.
If you really want to get something from Brodard, get either the chicken goi or the beef goi. (Chicken or Beef Salad.) They’re probably the best things on the menu – it’s all I’d actually eat there – and travels really well. They package all the different components and dressing separately: the crispy things stay crispy and you can dress it right before you serve it. Huge crowd pleasers, either one.
For dessert, stop by Final Touch Bakery, where Stephanie Dinh has been baking since long before she opened S (the Vietnamese fine dining place). Very, very nice cakes, particularly with the mixed berry Bavarian cream filling. Pricey by Little Saigon standards, which means crazy cheap for anywhere else.
Or, for Vietnamese desserts, Hien Khanh is the place to go. Waaay better than Che Cali (with the exception of the che khoai mon, the taro-sticky rice dessert, which Che Cali does surprisingly well). They sell out of stuff regularly, though, so make sure you get there early enough for any kind of selection. Their homemade Vietnamese yogurt (kept in the case) is also really, really good. It’s what I buy when I’m too lazy to make my own. Again, it’s more expensive than other che places in Little Saigon, but well worth it.
Is there something in particularly you were hoping to serve?
malibu recommendations visiting from Toronto
It's now Charlie's, which, though not particularly offensive, is kind of meh -
http://www.charliesmalibu.com/
