Chef babies eat very well! For an early lunch Vivian had a lovely soup I knocked together from a variety of tasty leftovers.
Leftover pho broth, steamed broken jasmine rice, Savoy cabbage, gailan (Chinese broccoli), baby arugula, cilantro, scallions, and Japanese flowering fern. She loved it!
For dessert the Viv had fresh strawberries and some very sweet red grapes.
My baby’s got a healthy appetite!
Okay, okay, so my seven-month old child isn’t actually devouring one of the best sandwiches in Los Angeles, but she sure wanted to! Hell, she couldn’t even take a bite due to a conspicuous lack of teeth. But like her mom and me and pretty much everyone who’s ever eaten a Godmother, I’m sure baby Vivian would agree that it’s the best Italian-style sub (or hero or grinder or whatever) in the city. The bread is the key — crisp, chewy, and flavorful. If you haven’t eaten one yet, you should. And get it with the spicy peppers!
This pic was taken by my good friend Jen Kramer
Read more about it in my original Godmother post from 2011, which can be found here:
http://spencerhgray.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/the-best-sandwich-in-la/
I shot this video with my son Bennet. It’s a very simple recipe for Frosted Flake French Toast. I won’t bother to post a recipe, since it’s so easy. You’ll just have to watch the video to find out how to make it!
And while you’re at it, check out my other OMNIVOROUS videos.
A casual dinner by the Willamette River.
Regina, Bennet, Vivian, and I visited my father and step-mother in Portland, Oregon last week. Dad and Joan have an absolutely gorgeous place by on the east bank of the Willamette River. Their house is set on a bluff overlooking a wide expanse of perfect lawn that leads down to the river bank. My father is a dedicated plant man and he’s got stunning vegetable beds, fruit trees, and grape vines growing vigorously on their property. Kale and tomatoes, lettuces and potatoes, rosemary, lavender, fig, eucalyptus, red chard, bartlett pear, apples, and more. In the eight years they’ve been in Oregon they’ve managed to create and maintain a home that is inviting and charming and that’s a reflection of their progressive thoughts on nature, food, health, light, and community. And on a late summer afternoon there’s nothing better than sipping a glass of my Dad’s homemade white wine and watching rowing sculls flit across the river’s surface, competing occasionally with the wake-making antics of jet-skiers. Birds loop in the blue skies, adopted fuzzball cats get fresh with your legs, a breeze stirs the perfect green beans clinging from their trellis, the occasional passenger jet carves contrails impossibly high above us. It’s all so perfect. So perfect, in fact, that Regina and I got married on these fair premises last summer.
Always superb salmon can be found in the Northwest.
When we visit I usually try to cook one good meal for my family; we only seem to have time for one as we always have so much on our plate — other friends and family to see, zoos to visit, and breweries to tour. We like to eat outside, watch the sunset, play board games as we nibble dessert, and perhaps sip a little cheap sherry (that would be only my father and me) as we yak about our lives, politics, and what-have-you. This past week talk of politics, the food industry, my much-missed absent sisters, and (naturally) The Olympics dominated. We try to make the most of what Dad and Joan’s garden has to offer, we take a casual pace, and we enjoy each other’s company.
Joan and Jeff (my bro) contributed some excellent Coho salmon — each filet about a pound, very lean, but very fresh. Full of pin bones, even though I yanked out most of them. I patted-dry the fish very well, cut the filets down to individual pieces, and seasoned them with sea salt, pepper, and a big pinch of some random Penzey’s spice mix (maybe like a poultry seasoning) that Joan had in her cooking arsenal. I cooked the filets by first searing the fish skin-side down in a very hot skillet with some olive oil. After the skin was crisped I then flipped the pieces and cooked the other side about a minute. I then transferred the par-cooked pieces to a baking dish. The baking dish I popped into the oven and finished the fish at 375º F for about five minutes.
The fish was just cooked through, moist and delicious.
A simple salad — romaine, tomato, radish, etc.
Our salad was definitely a family affair. Jeff contributed a perfect large Persian cucumber from his yard-garden, Joan added a bulb of fennel and a head of fresh romaine from her lettuce bed, and just that morning I’d gotten a few excellent tomatoes, celery, and radishes from the small but very inviting Milwaukie Farmer’s Market. At the market I also picked up some great local and organic goat-milk feta cheese. I whipped up a simple cider vinaigrette with some garlic, shallot, and a bit of minced fennel frond (and S&P, of course).
I (mostly) peeled, seeded, and chopped the cuke. I shaved the fennel and soaked it briefly in cold water to firm it up. I cut, soaked, and spun-dry the romaine. Cut the tomatoes, finely cut some celery, shaved some radishes, crumbled the sublime and creamy feta. I tossed everything together with some of the dressing. Basically a Greek-style salad with no olives or peppers, it was light and refreshing and complemented the fish perfectly.
Potatoes fresh out of the ground are the best!
Dad dug up some potatoes from a mixed patch that yielded some good glossy reds, some Peruvian purples, and a few starchy Russet-style baker-types. After hosing them down, drying them off, and cutting the spuds down to similar sizes (think 3/4-inch thick cubes, about) I tossed them (in a big bowl) in melted butter and olive oil. Over the top I sprinkled generous amounts of kosher salt and cracked black pepper. I also threw in some minced herbs from Joan’s herb pots — fresh rosemary, a bit of fresh lavender, lemon thyme, marjoram, and parsley. A couple large cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped, completed the potato seasoning. I spread the taters in a roasting pan and cooked them at 400ºF for about 35 minutes, until the potatoes were browned and crisp on the edges but soft in the middle. I turned and tossed and moved the potatoes around a couple of times during the roasting to ensure even cooking.
Everyone loved the potatoes, and it’s a good thing I made a whole lot as we ended up eating them the next day as well! The dish wasn’t particularly hard to make or inventive. It’s all about fresh potatoes. Fresh potatoes are heads above your typical grocery store spuds. They are moister, richer, earthier, and butterier. Just excellent. And according to Dad, pretty much toil-free as a home crop.
Very simple sauteed green beans.
Earlier that day Joan had picked some green beans. I trimmed these and blanched them in boiling salted water for about four minutes until tender. I shocked them in a ice bath to stop the cooking and then then drained them very well. I cut the beans into two-to-three-inch lengths. About five minutes before dinner time I heat up a big sauté pan and lightly browned (over medium-high heat) some chopped onion and garlic in a combination of butter and olive oil. I threw in the beans and cooked them for another minute. I added a splash of white wine (New Zealand Sauv Blanc), stirred the beans, and served them.
Excellent lemon-garlic fettucine with butter, parmesan, lemon zest, and fresh breadcrumbs.
At the Milwaukie Farmer’s Market I also picked up a pound of very good organic linguine infused with lemon and garlic. First step in making this dish was toasting some homemade fresh breadcrumbs. I cut the crust off of a chunk of stale baguette and then cut the interior of the bread into smaller pieces, about a half-inch in size. I put the bread into a food processor and pulsed it down into crumbs. I then sautéed the crumbs in butter and olive oil until nice-and-crunchy; I pulled the crumbs from the pan and held them until later.
I set up a pot of salted water to cook the pasta. I set up another big sauté pan and melted a generous plug of butter in a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Into the oils I added two cloves of coarsely garlic & once minced shallot. I cooked the garlic and shallot about a minute until softened and then turned off the gas. When the water boiled I cooked the noodles to al dente.
I drained the noodles but I retained a half-cup of the pasta-cooking liquid in a measuring cup. I put the hot drained linguine into the butter-olive oil mixture and tossed it well. I turned the heat up to high and added the cup of pasta-water. I threw in a handful of chopped red chard and about 5 basil leaves, which I tore up by hand. Over the noodles I added two tablespoons of lemon zest and the juice of one lemon. Using a pair of tongs I mixed the noodles to get everything together and then tested for seasoning. I added a bit of salt, a whole bunch of black pepper, and 1 cup of grated parmesan. I killed the heat, stirred the cheese in, and transferred the pasta to a big serving bowl. Finally, as a garnish, I topped the linguine with a big handful of toasted breadcrumbs. Voila! Garlic & lemon linguine with butter, chard, basil, parmesan & crisp breadcrumbs.
Sitting down to a fine meal with fine people (clockwise from left): Jeff, Bennet, Regina, me, Vivian, Joan. (Missing from this photo: Dad, who took the pic, and my sister-in-law Kate, who had to work.)
Jeff brought some homemade beer (pretty yummy!) and we also drank lemonade and one of my personal faves — Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc (pretty decent and relatively cheap NZ white). For dessert we had this delicious crostata made from organic nectarines and a partially whole-wheat crust, which came out a tiny bit tough. I made a basic pate brisée but I think I screwed up the proportions of fat-to-flour. C’est la vie. Even the best of us screw up from time to time. Best of all, we topped off the crostata with vanilla ice cream from Graeter’s out of Cincinnati. Good, ole-fashioned iced cream.
Seriously, is there anything better than good food and family? Well, the view helped too. And the wine.
Fresh nectarine crostata. Yummy!
She’s so yummy!
My latest dish:
Vivian Haines Gray, born April 24th at 5:40PM at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Westwood, California.
Delicious!
Soul-satisfying old-fashioned strawberry shortcake.
My wife just pulled the pregnancy card. To be fair she hasn’t been especially demanding except for the occasional desperate and frantic request for trashy ice cream treats. A couple of days ago Regina told me unequivocally that she wanted, no required strawberry shortcake. And neither that phony, easy-to-make strawberry shortcake on the prepackaged spongecake you see moldering in the produce aisle next to the berries, nor some “shortcut” shortcake utilizing frozen Sara Lee pound cake, but real, honest-to-goodness old-fashioned strawberry shortcake with hand-whipped cream scented with vanilla, great berries, and warm sweet biscuits.
Of course she had to have it, and of course I had to make it. I got my son Bennet into the shortcake-making process and he loved it! He helped make the biscuits and assisted in assembly. As always, I encourage you to get your kids involved in the kitchen. The lessons learned are invaluable; it’s important for kids to garner an understanding of where their food comes from and how it’s made. It helps build self-confidence and the shared experience is critically important in building great family bonds. I could ramble on about this topic for hours, but you get the idea. Let’s make strawberry shortcake! Continue reading
Deliciously thin and yummy.
I’ve mentioned this before, but I love teaching my son to cook. We have a wonderful time in the kitchen, especially making breakfast on the weekend, listening to The Beatles and generally having a grand ole time. Regina will make tea and squeeze fresh orange juice while I walk Bennet through some simple recipes — usually eggs or French toast or something in that vein.
This past weekend we made some simple Swedish pancakes. Swedish pancakes are thin, almost crepe-like. Frequently they’re rolled up and topped with lingonberry jam (or perhaps applesauce) and dusted with powdered sugar, but I like them smaller and served with maple syrup. Because the batter is so thin, the pancakes spread out into irregular shapes, which I kinda like. Every pancakes has its own character.
When cooking these simple breakfast treats, your pan should be fairly hot. I usually heat the pan very well before cooking (maybe three minutes) and I keep the pan on medium-high during the cooking process. Swedish pancakes will cook quickly, which makes for a fast and easy breakfast. You can make the batter a day (maybe even two days) in advance and keep it refrigerated.
I have to say that Bennet did very well. He even slightly seared his arm on the edge of the pan, but the pain didn’t deter him. Nothing stopped him from cooking our breakfast. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to teach your kids to cook. Not only does it educate them about the origins and the creation of the food we ingest, but it gives them confidence, it teaches them self-sufficiency, and it underscores the importance of family and sharing. I think it’s a critical step lesson in life. And I just love it!
Try this simple recipe with your kids, and I bet they will love it too. Continue reading
Bennet cracks eggs into the bowl.
Those of you who are familiar with this blog will have noticed my frequent mentions of my wife Regina and my son Bennet. Family is very important to me and cooking together as a family is a wonderful way to forge deep bonds and to teach the importance of shared experience, shared meals, and learning how to take care of oneself.
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| Bennet loves Fosselman’s! Behind him my stepdad tries to decide on a flavor. |
Regina loves the old-fashioned charm and ice cream style of Fosselman’s ice cream parlor in Alhambra. The place has been there since 1919 and it retains an old-timey feel; the interior doesn’t exactly feel (almost) a century old, but the last upgrade in the decor was probably in the late 70′s. The ice cream itself is old-fashioned – it’s airy if not light, it’s creamy but not dense, it’s flavorful but not overbearing. Of course Alhambra has changed quite a lot in the past ninety-two years, which is evident from the very diverse crowd. This demographic shift is also evident in the wide array of flavors, which now includes more international tastes like horchata and taro alongside classics like chocolate mint, pistachio, French vanilla, peach, and peppermint.
The secret to the creamy texture of their ice cream is nearly 16% butterfat, which makes the final product luscious and meltingly tantalizing on the tongue. Everything is made in-house without preservatives. I think Fosselman’s started life as a dairy, but when the ice cream business took off they devoted their time and energy to making amazing frozen dairy desserts. This focused attention on their ice cream has resulted in great ice cream and a remarkable longevity in their business.
In addition to ice cream they also offer about 15 sorbet flavors. Of the ones I sampled green apple was my favorite. Watermelon was too sweet and cloying, but my boy Bennet loved it. You can also buy prepacked or hand-packed pints and gallons to take home with you. Also, you can order their ice cream online. And they offer an array of candies. A little historical note: apparently Jelly Belly jelly beans made their debut at Fosselman’s decades ago; they still display a wide selection of Jelly Belly beans.
On this past visit Regina got a cone of maple-walnut, which she devoured in record time. Bennet got two scoops: orange sherbert and chocolate chip-strawberry. My mother chose pineapple-coconut, which I thought was dynamite. I had a scoop of black raspberry, which was nice but had a slight artificial aftertaste. My step-dad threw caution to the wind and got a massive sundae with chocolate, strawberry, and peppermint ice cream. He inhaled that monster sundae in an impressive display of manly scarfing.
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| Fosselman’s ice cream is from another era. |
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| Adapting to demographic changes in the ‘hood, Fosselman’s offers all kinds of flavors. |
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| One of Regina’s favorites: maple-walnut. |
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| What kid doesn’t like ice cream? |
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| Black raspberry was good but not a home run. |
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| Mom’s pineapple-coconut was fantastic. |
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| So damn cute! |
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| That’s a big sundae for this overcast Sunday! |
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| A bored teen ice cream technician stares at me with a surly attitude. |
To be frank, Fosselman’s is not my personal favorite ice cream. For me it’s too sweet. The texture is nice but I prefer the denser texture and more direct flavors of modern ice cream purveyors. I really love McConnell’s ice cream from Santa Barbara. Graeter’s from Cincinnati is pretty damn good. The wacky flavor combinations of Jeni’s out of Columbus, Ohio, are worth a taste too.
My favorite local producer is Scoops; their unusual flavors keep me coming back. I stop by their Culver City store frequently to have a taste of Brown Brown Bread and say hi to proprietor and friend Matthew Kang.
But all that aside, since I seem to find myself in Alhambra every couple of months, I never pass up another opportunity to eat Fosselman’s ice cream.
Check out their website to order online:
http://fosselmans.com/index.html
Or visit their retail location:
I’m so proud of my boy Bennet. Even at age seven, he’s exhibiting a real interest in food. He helps me in the kitchen with simple tasks, he sets the table, and he’s almost fearless when it comes to eating. I say “almost” simply because he cannot be cajoled or bribed into eating tomatoes. I dearly hope he grows out of this phase and embraces tomatoes like I do. But I’m happy that he’ll try most things — any kind of salad, garlicky bok choy, spicy Japanese pickles, crab legs, lobster claws, shaved black truffles, fried abalone, grilled squid. He might not end up enjoying everything, but he tries it for sure.
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| A boy’s breakfast. |
Bennet has pretty advanced tastes for a kid, which is apparent in his love for fish, especially salmon. I recall a moment two years ago, when I was planning dinner for just the two of us. “Would you like a grilled cheese sandwich, or maybe a couple of miniburgers for dinner?” was my question to him. His response, “I really liked the filet of sole you made last night, Dad.” And I remember another time at my pre-wedding rehearsal dinner. Regina and I looked over the kids menu at the Heathman in Portland; mostly the usual suspects — chicken fingers, buttered noodles. Bennet immediately asked for “salmon and broccoli, and maybe a little Caesar salad?”. I love that kid!
Yesterday morning I insisted we have a large breakfast, which is rare for me; I eat breakfast only two or three times a week, generally speaking. But Bennet and I like to bike to school once a week and yesterday was the first bike trip of the new school year. It’s only a couple of miles each way, but I wanted to make sure he had enough energy for the day. So Bennet and I made a breakfast of over-easy fried eggs, pan-roasted salmon (with skin), toasted bagel (from Western Bagel here in LA), and a few very good, very juicy, and virtually black cherries. Bennet helped by washing the cherries, cracking the eggs, and seasoning the fish.
I preheated the oven to 350 degrees and heated a non-stick saute pan. I add a tablespoon of veg oil to the pan and crisped the salmon, skin-side down for about five minutes. I flipped the fish and seared the other side for about five minutes. I popped the pan in the oven and finished the fish for another five minutes. In the meantime I toasted the bagel and fried the eggs. Regina set the table and squeezed some fresh grapefruit juice.
It was a lovely brekkie for all! It was substantial and delicious and Bennet enjoyed it immensely. And he had plenty of energy for biking and learning and playing.
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