Best. Burger. Ever.

I'm admittedly way behind on my posting --it's been a busy month-- but before I get to those I must interject with this: There is nothing like a fantastic burger. Many restaurants claim to have a killer burger, and some try to entice you with promises of angus or kobe beef, and funky aiolis and arugula. For me it's all about the toppings, and apparently, the more the better.

Big N and I took a mini-break to Santa Barbara wine country this weekend and what we were looking forward to most was the Hadsten House "all the way" burger. We first had this god of a sandwich a few months ago and have been dreaming of it (literally in Big N's case) ever since.

Picture this (except the picture really isn't doing this one justice):

Juicy tender burger on brioche bun topped with, and I kid you not: spinach, roasted red pepper, sauteed mushrooms, sliced avocado, grilled onions, cheddar, jack, goat, and swiss cheeses, bacon, and the creme della creme: fried egg. It is nothing short of genius.

We paired our "all the way" burger with Epiphany Cellars 2005 Rodney's Vinyard Petite Sirah made right in Santa Barbara County. Strong, juicy, and a bit chewy, it paired well with the richness of the burger. Man it was good!

Next time you find yourself in Solvang, stay at Hadsten House (a nice boutique motel that isn't throwing up Scandinavia like the rest of Solvang) and order the burger "all the way." I promise you'll agree... best. burger. ever.

For a Clear View

I love Los Angeles after it rains. The rain washes away the dirt and dinge and allows the beauty of this city to shine through. Sometimes you have to look hard to see it, but it's always there. El-El took these pictures from our outside patio with her very cool camera. She's turning into quite the photographer (check out her Photojourna.lists)

The first is a view of La Canada looking out over our pool with Mount Wilson standing tall and proud in the background, and the second is a view of downtown Pasadena and beyond.

Dinner Party Was A Dud But We'll Always Have Fried Chicken

It's always a shame when work gets in the way of your hobbies. The past few weeks I've been working non-stop and had to cancel my beloved dinner party as a result. I felt terrible because friends Eagle Eye and El-El flew out from St. L to hang out with us, especially in time to attend. Dinner party aside, we did find time to indulge in some serious foodie behavior by dining at both Melisse and Osteria Mozza (more on that in separate posts).

I also found some time to make fried chicken, a first for me. I bought a whole fryer and butchered it, (wielding my cleaver was especially gratifying) then marinated the chicken in buttermilk overnight to keep it moist and tender. I then dredged it in well seasoned flour and plopped it into my fry pan, doing my best to keep the temperature at an even 300.

Unfortunately I misjudged the done-ness of my chicken before I took it out so it ended up being twice fried, but it was tasty, tender, and very juicy. To keep with the southern theme I made some fried okra, Big N's favorite.

For a first attempt it wasn't half bad. I had so much fun making it that I plan to experiment next time with my hefty duty deep fryer. KFC ain't got nothing on me.

Dinner Party Preparations

Preparations for the wine pairing multi-course dinner are well underway. If I neglect to blog in the next couple of weeks it's because I'm going to be a busy little bee planning the menu and experimenting with the dishes. I'm also forcing Big N to act as a guinea pig as I perfect them in advance of the dinner. I can't very well blog about the dishes I intend to serve as it would quite obviously ruin the surprise. The trial run helps me to leave as little as possible to chance. I also need to carefully plan the timing of each dish, especially because the menu now stands at 6 courses plus an amuse bouche and cheese course, all with intended wine pairings. Timing is everything (that and just not screwing it all up).

Friends Eagle Eye and El-El (aka Lickity List) are coming in from St. Louis specially for this dinner and I'm determined not to disappoint. Mousseux will also be in the house so the wine pairings better be spot on. The guestlist now stands at 14 but may reach 16 as we get closer to February 7. My goal is to keep it simple but delicious, and to make it as enjoyable for our guests as the last time we hosted one of these shindigs. Wish me luck.

Sunday Night Romertopf Roast

For Christmas Big N's sister Star gave me a Romertopf- an unglazed clay pot with a dome lid that seals in the juices and nutrients while it roasts. I decided to try it out with a simple preparation of cornish game hen and vegetables, au-so-French. As recommended in the Romertopf cookbook, I prepared the hen by seasoning it inside and out with salt, pepper, lemon juice, and parsley. Then I mixed sour cream, lemon juice, and water and poured it into the pot (which I already soaked in water for 20 minutes) to provide the moisture. The vegetables were simple carrots and parsnips, Big N's favorite.

As promised, the dish could not have been easier to prepare, and in 1 hour we had delicious roasted hen, moist and tender. I think I can get used to the Romertopf and will experiment with other recipes. One thing to note- I highly recommend not buying the cornish hen at Whole Foods. The organic mini-bird was about a third the size of a whole chicken roaster and 3 times the price ($15). Luckily, it fed both Big N and me, barely, but I'm not sure the organic tradeoff is worth $15 bucks for such a munchkin.

We paired our mini-hen with a lovely easy-drinking Burgundy, the Bouchard Aine & Fils La Maziere, from the Fixin AOC (a lesser-known AOC near Marsannay) on the north end of the Cotes de Nuits. Wines from Fixin are known to be good value Burgundies. It had a nice Abba Zabba candied nose with some vanilla notes from the oak, and smooth spices and easy tannins on the finish. Very drinkable. We gobbled it up.

What LCG's Lusting After Today

You've already heard me lusting after sous-vide meats. They are soft, tender, delectable. Veal, beef, and, I'm told, even eggs and fois gras come out delightfully delicious when they've been sous-vide. I simply must try this technique for myself.

Essentially it works like this: you place your seasoned meat or other food item in a vacuum-sealed bag, then in a water bath. The water is heated to a very precise but low temperature to cook the meat slowly, consistently, and tenderly. So if medium rare meat is delicious at 135 degrees, you'd cook your meat somewhere near that temperature for hours and hours. The fat stays in the meat and does not render off, giving the meat better texture. The danger of course, is bacteria, because low temperatures do not kill it off, so that's an issue, but well worth the gamble in my opinion.

I'm dying to try the technique myself and have been lusting after this immersion circulator, the tool required. It's not cheap, so it may have to wait until I decide once and for all that my destiny is to become a chef.

Providence Redux

Last night we joined our sommelier friend 'Mousseux' for another round at Providence. Mousseux had dined at the bar before, but wanted to do one of the tasting menus with her foodie friends. Since nobody in their right mind would turn down an offer to dine at Providence, we happily accepted.

Once again the meal was flawless. This time we ordered the *modest* five-course tasting menu with wine pairings.
We dined on amazing hamachi, scallop, cod, veal, cheese, and more. For the most part the wine pairings were lovely, including the always amazing Sean Thackrey Pleiades (we simply must have more!!!), though there were a couple of misses where the dishes had citrusy sauces (see meyer lemon foam --> ), which are understandably hard to pair.

Over dinner we chatted about Mousseux's new job selling boutique wines to the best restaurants all over the country, while I thought to myself that I really am in the wrong business.