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m

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James Blake  - Webster Hall, NYC – Jul 13 

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m

Awesome kid at X-Games

My homie Jess & Occy her awesome pup.

Short Rib tacos at Tinga on La Brea, Los Angeles

Huge blueberry pancake with blueberry sour cream (yes…sounds weird but its amazing) at The Griddle Cafe on Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles. The coffee comes out in a french press! So gooood.

Caramelized Fennel, Confit Tomato, Green Onion & Spicy Fennel Salami pizza at Gjelina’s on Abbot Kinney Blvd. Venice Beach, CA

great food, great weather, awesome shopping.

xoxo

m

 Myself & Vernie have compiled our men and here they are (in no order….for me at least).

 VERNIE

1. GEORGE CLOONEY

“THE O.G SILVER FOX“

2. BRAD PITT

“THE O.G. DADDY”

3. LEO DICAPRIO

“THE O.G. BABYMAN”

4.  MICHAEL FASSBENDER

“THE O.G. MAGNETO”

5. GARRETT HEDLUND

“BEAU”

Clearly….she likes older men. Which is completely in contrast to my baby man obsession.

MARU

1. ROBERT PATTINSON

“PEAR SHAPED BABY MAN”

2. JAMES BLAKE

“MUSICAL BABY MAN”

2. GARRET HEDLUND

“SHARED BABY MAN”

4. MICHAEL PITT

“………………”

5. JOHNNY DEPP

” THE O.G. REBEL”

All vanilla with a dash of cinnamon.

xoxo

m

He’s a handsome devil, if only he’d show his mug more but take what you can get via his video blogs & his SITE…

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m

 Last week’s delivery was fresh kale, swiss chard, red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, wild scallions, organic strawberries, broccoli & beets. I know, its a pretty sweet deal. So i took everything except the kale since it’s just me and the other greens were more appealing.

 This recipe uses 2 strawberry pints that I took from the share. I was so looking forward to it that I couldn’t wait to make this.

I have a book of really yummy fruit desserts (divided by season which is awesome) but I forgot to bring it with me to work so that I might get the rest of the ingredients at the grocery store. Alas I just went online and grabbed another Strawberry Ricotta Tarte recipe and adjusted.

Equipment:

Handheld mixer

9″ Fluted Tarte Pan w/ removable bottom

Graham Cracker crust:

(p.s.  A traditional tarte does NOT have a graham cracker crust. it has a short dough crust. This is is where I took from another recipe b/c I had left my book at home.)

1-1/2 cups of finely ground graham crackers

1/4 cup of sugar (use less if desired …I hate overly sweet desserts)

5 tablespoons butter (unsalted) melted

1/8 teaspoon of salt ( I added a bit more and used sea salt i/o regular table salt)

*mix all of the above in a big blown and then firmly press mixture onto tarte pan and up the sides. Pre-bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 mins.

Filling:

1 cup (80z.) whole milk ricotta

2/3 cup (6 oz.) cream cheese at room temp

3/4 cup sugar (adjust as you’d like)

seeds scraped from 1/2 vanilla bean (I did not have any so instead I used a bit more vanilla extract)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

*( I cannot tell you how much better it is to grate your own i/o purchasing already powdered nutmeg. NO comparison.)

2 eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

*(please don’t be cheap with this and buy imitation vanilla flavor, that shit tastes like alcohol. use the real deal.)

2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar reduction

*(my add and such a good pairing with strawberries. i added it to the mix but i think next time i will drizzle on the top after the tarte bakes & cools for a bit (before the berries though..)

*mix all of the above in a large bowl using a handheld mixer or a big wire whisk adding the eggs one at a time. pour into tarte shell and bake for 30 minutes. (the center will be jiggly but that’s ok since you will cool it for an hour and then refrigerate it for at least 3 and it will set.)

Strawberry Topping:

3 pints strawberries (hulled and halved)

*(again, here I am using the local strawberries I got from the farm share and the difference between store bought and them is insane so if you can’t get them from a farmer’s market, at least get organic where they won’t be completely white and bitter on the inside. these strawberries from the farm were smaller and so red and juicy my hands got tinted.)

1/2 strawberry jam

1 tablespoon lemon juice (my add)

*make topping before serving by heating up the jam and then mixing it along with the berries and lemon juice in a bowl and arranging over the chilled tarte.

and voila!

xx

m

Filed under: FOOD, Uncategorized

The title of the dish is long as hell but this is for lack of a better name…

Anywho, the recipe is totally me experimenting in the kitchen but it turned out EPIC.

Turkey Patties:

1 lb ground turkey (preferably free range)

1/2 large yellow onion

2 garlic cloves

1 cup shredded carrots

1 large egg (beaten)

sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

juice of 1 lime

pinch of raw sugar

Bread:

ciabatta rolls

Sriracha Mayo:

1 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce

2 tablespoons mayo (make yer own if possible…i don’t but i wish i did)

juice of half a lime

*totally make more if you want. I make the single girls portion, but generally do one part Sriracha to two parts mayo. Adjust however you’d like.

Toppings:

1/2 red onion (julienned)

arugula

*ok here’s the deal. i would top with cilantro & pickled daikon & carrots but i put the carrots in the patties & did not have cilantro on hand… however what I did use was yummy as well.

So here it goes!

First thing’s first add olive oil to a hot pan. (I used a heavy cast iron dutch oven because my deep skillet was in the dishwasher but anywho)… Dice yellow onion & add to pan. Reduce heat to med  so the onion cooks but does not burn. Add salt & pepper & saute until translucent. Add the shredded carrots & garlic and cook on med to med low heat. Add rice wine vinegar and cook until all the veggies are soft & caramelized. Taste as it might be too sweet (add more salt & pepper if needed and the pinch of sugar).

When the veggies are done, put aside and add the ground turkey meat in a large bowl. Season meat with salt & pepper & add lime juice. Mix. Add in the sauteed veggies & mix in well along with the beaten egg. MIX WELL. USE YOUR HANDS.

IT’S OK…. YOU WASH THEM. RIGHT?

This amount makes about 4 burger patties. Divide the mixture in the bowl into 4 equal parts. Form the patties and place on a board to sprinkle with the chinese 5 spice powder. I got mine at Williams Sonoma but you can find this in most grocery stores or you can just make your own blend if you have a mortar & pestle or a spice grinder (aka coffee bean grinder).

Pre – heat your oven to 425 (do this when you start everything). Not now…

Mix in your Sriracha mayo ingredients & set aside(in the fridge).

I cook my burgers on a sautee pan since the grill tends to let the fat of the meat go down and does not keep the meat moist. I find cooking a burger on a flat top is better and produces a juicier burger (which is especially important with turkey burgers since they can get really dry). I add a bit of olive oil to the pan and sear top & bottom to get it crusty and then pop in the oven for another 10 minutes. Add the ciabatta roll to the oven in the last 5 mins and watch closely so buns do not burn.

Assemble your items on the bun and drizzle the mayo on top.

you know you want it.

hope you try it out! it was yummy & i saved the rest of the patties in the freezer which is convenient as hell!

xx

m

Filed under: FOOD

 So here is what I made for dinner yesterday (first time recipe too so don’t judge me). Bucatini with Roasted tomato & arugula sauce. Bucatini is just a long pasta that is hollowed in the middle. Think of it as a thick spaghetti with a vent.

Ingredients:

Sauce:

5 vine ripe tomatoes

3 tblsp tomato paste

1 clove of garlic

1 medium yellow onion (i think i’d use a small onion next time)

2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tblsp unsalted butter

red pepper flakes (to taste)

sea salt (to taste)

handful of baby arugula (or as desired)

*please adjust amount of tomatoes as desired

Pasta:

1/2 pack of dried bucatini

Extras:

Parmigiano Reggiano

Side of crusty bread

How to:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place your tomatoes in an oven safe dish with extra virgin olive oil to coat & roast for around 25 minutes. Check on them at 20 minutes to see if they are blistery. This is what they should look like after.

Let them cool and top off with a piece of plastic wrap so the skin comes off easily later.

Meanwhile, grate, yes…..grate the small onion. This will make it melt into the sauce so you dont have annoying chunks. You just want to bring out the sweet onion flavor.

After you are done with this, melt the butter in a deep skillet and saute the onions and garlic clove (i like to leave it whole so that the pieces do not burn). Add salt & red pepper flakes and cook for around 7 minutes until onions are caramelized burt not burnt. Add the tomato paste and it should look like this.

At this point I drizzled in some olive oil, peeled my tomatoes (the skin just comes off) and blended them in the food processor. I add the tomato puree & another teaspoon of salt & let it simmer for 5 more minutes. *always taste!!! you never know if it is too sweet (the onions will add tons of sweetness).

Start boiling  your pasta… when it gets cloudy (meaning the starches have released) add some of this pasta water to the sauce & a bit more olive oil if it needs.  The below picture sucks but I’ll get better…

 As soon as the pasta is done, add the arugula to the sauce and add pasta directly into sauce pan & toss. Serve & drizzle with more olive oil and grate fresh parmigiano on top and voila!

 Boom.  Hope you try it out and enjoy it as much as I did. I’ll def get better at documenting etc.

xx

m

More Pics via Garance Doré

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m