Joan's on Third: Roof Picnic in LA

Last month we went to Joan's on Third and took it back to T.'s apartment for a rooftop picnic before heading to the airport.  The moment I walked into Joan's, I was in foodie heaven.  It was almost too much to handle it was that amazing.  Yes there were long lines, but the service was so professional, efficient, and helpful that everything moved smoothly.  I recommend getting the focaccia- there are three great flavors: grape, lemon zest w/ salt, and cherry tomato.  We also indulged in the delicious made-to-order sandwiches.  Since it can be crowded during certain hours, I think Joan's is best enjoyed as take-out, although there are tables both inside and on the sidewalk.  They have every drink you could imagine, so we picked up some fun bottles of sparkling lemonade since it was a picnic afterall.  

And as it was our last afternoon before heading back up north, we had to have some Pinkberry since the flavor was blood orange!!

Joan's on Third is located at 8350 W 3rd St. in Los Angeles

Hotel Misc in Amsterdam

On my first trip to Amsterdam, I decided to stay at the Hotel Misc (Eat Drink Sleep) after reading about it online.  The location was great- it was a relatively easy 10 minute walk from the train station to the hotel.  My three favorite things about the hotel were: the breakfasts, overall comfort, and the location.

Insanely comfortable beds

 Unlimited complimentary mini-bar

Peaceful garden view

 Delicious daily breakfasts (amazing granola, toast and jam, cheese and meat, croissants, bacon and eggs, fruit, fresh-squeezed OJ, etc.)

Hotel Misc is located at Kloveniersburgwal 20 in Amsterdam

L'as du Fallafel

One of my favorite places to get a quick bite to eat when I was living in Paris was L'as du Fallafel.  When I was there last month visiting, I decided to grab a sandwich but I picked the wrong day- it was the half marathon and I literally couldn't cross the street.  I went back to the apartment and ventured out after the race was over.  

It closes Friday afternoon for Shabbat, reopening on Sunday, which makes it a perfect pit stop for Sunday lunch.  Much of the Marais in fact, is the place to be in Paris on Sunday, as many other parts of the city (shops, bakeries, etc.) shut down.  There is often a line but it moves quickly as you pay while you're queuing.  While they have more to offer than just falafel, I recommend the falafel sandwich with all the fillings (cabbage, cucumber, onion, fried eggplant, creamy white sauce, etc.) and sauce piquante (though it's not at all spicy).  It all comes together nicely in a messy street-food kind of way.  Take it to go and enjoy it (start with a fork, then eat it like a sandwich) in the street walking through the Marais or find a nearby park bench to savor it.

L'as du Fallafel is located at 34 Rue des Rosiers in Paris

Cooking with the Barefoot Contessa: Perfect Roast Tomatoes

The beauty of this recipe is that you can use, pardon my French, crap tomatoes.  Ones that would even taste bad raw.  Because the time spent in the oven transforms these tomatoes into perfect, bite-sized tastes of the Mediterranean.  In fact, save the fragrant juicy tomatoes from your garden and those colorful heirlooms from the farmer's market for a fresh salad where you can really feature the flavor.  I've roasted tomatoes many, many times but have often stuck to cherry tomatoes.  They taste yummy but after trying Ina Garten's recipe, I'm sticking to roasting these kinds of tomatoes.  Want to know the secret?  Sugar!  Yes, not only do you sprinkle salt over the tomatoes, but 2 teaspoons of sugar.  It makes all the difference.  Recipe below.


Roasted Tomatoes from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa show
Ingredients (serves ~4)
10 plum tomatoes (I used roma tomatoes, they have a prettier shape and were easy to scoop out)
garlic
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
ground pepper, to taste
good balsamic vinegar (I used my favorite vinegar that we got in Modena on our tour of the acetaia)  
basil


Preheat oven to 450 F.  Slice 10 Roma tomatoes in half and scoop out the insides (seeds, etc.) so that all your left with is the shell.  (You can save the insides to use in a sauce later).  Place all 20 hollowed-out tomatoes on a pan.  Mince the garlic and sprinkle evenly over tomatoes.  Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil.  Sprinkle sugar and salt evenly over the tomatoes.  Drizzle balsamic vinegar.  Place in oven for at least 25 minutes or until done.  The longer you leave them in, the more they develop a sun-dried tomato consistency- it's delicious!  Chiffonade some basil and sprinkle over the cooked tomatoes.   

Al Bahria in Marrakech

Although they now live in Rabat, N.'s mom is originally from Marrakech and we were able to stay in an apartment they own when we went down there to visit.  N.'s mom had told her that we must eat lunch at her favorite fish place in town so we started to walk near the area it was in.  When we couldn't find it, we asked someone and he guided us down the right road and told us we would be able to smell the fresh fish.  He was right.  We followed our noses until we were led to Snack Bar Al Bahria.  The outdoor patio was jam packed with (mostly) hungry Marrakechi and a few tourists and their Lonely Planet guidebooks.  I couldn't quite figure out the "system" to get a table, but eventually we were seated when an outdoor table opened up and we were in for a treat.  We ordered four fish platters that come with all types of seafood including shrimp, calamari, and two types of fish- all simply breaded with a wedge of lemon on the side.  Each order also comes with fragrant yellow rice, salad, olives, and bread.  It's a fun place to sit outside, enjoy some unexpected fresh fish in the desert of all places, and watch the busy happenings going on in the street.

Al Bahria is located on Boulevard Moulay Rachid and the corner of Rue Mauritanie not too far from the train station  (but if you find yourself lost, you can always follow your nose)

Ba Bar Restaurant in Seattle

beef ball pho

Yesterday I got to check out a Vietnamese restaurant in the Central District, Ba Bar.  Their claim to fame is the pho, as they cook the broth for days.  According to their website, they believe that "life is too short for five dollar pho."  I definitely noticed a difference in the broth; it was rich and not watered down like some of the cheaper joints around town.  And Ba Bar's beef ball pho still comes out to a reasonable eight dollars.  But in the end, to me pho is still pho, and I like my food to fill me up.  Enter the next dish, which was a real winner: the grilled prawn vermicelli.  It was hearty, the prawns were meaty and grilled to perfection, and the crispy imperial roll was the perfect contrast to the soft vermicelli noodles.  I slathered my noodles with the delicious sauces that came with the meal; one a bright hot sauce, and the other a sweet plum. 

grilled wild-caught prawn, crispy imperial roll, vermicelli, peanut, mint

We closed off our meal with key lime macarons baked daily by their pastry chef.  The key lime was a refreshing end to a excellent, affordable meal.

 key lime macarons


Ba Bar is located at 550 12th Ave. in Seattle

Cooking with the Barefoot Contessa: Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I've always felt indifferent when it comes to banana bread.  You can count me out if it's chock-full-o nuts, and even when it isn't, I find it dry, flaky, and blandish.  But as usual, the Barefoot Contessa makes things right-- with banana cake.  It's super-duper moist, intensely decadent and filling, and the perfect way to win over banana 'bread' haters like my former self.  Can it still classify as a breakfast food if it's cake?  Well, I can make my own rules.  Recipe below.

Recipe for Banana Cake from Barefoot Contessa, How Easy is That?
Ingredients for Cake
3 very ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
grated zest of 1 orange
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (I left these out)


Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
6 tablespoons (3/4 of a stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar


Directions for Cake
Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease and flour a 9" X 2" round cake pan.  (I used a spring form pan which worked great).
In your electric mixer bowl with paddle attachment (I couldn't find mine but the regular whisk worked fine), mix bananas, sugar, and brown sugar on low speed until combined.  Add oil, eggs, sour cream, zest, and vanilla.  Mix until smooth.  


In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  With mixer on low, add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, and mix until just combined.  Stir in walnuts at this time if you choose to add them.  Pour batter into floured pan and bake in oven for 45-50 minutes or until done.  Do the toothpick test (it should come out clean).  Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove.  Frost the cake with cream cheese frosting.


Directions for Frosting
Mix together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in clean bowl in electric mixer w/ paddle attachment on low speed until just combined.  (You don't want to whip it).  Add sugar and mix until smooth.


Enjoy!

Bakken Met Passie Bakery in Amsterdam

We stumbled upon this bakery on our way to buy concert tickets at the symphony hall.  What a treat!  I know I say Paris has the best desserts in the world, but Amsterdam's Bakken Met Passie definitely gives bakeries in the city of light a run for their money...

This citroen (lemon) cake was one of the best I've ever had.  It was so moist and zesty...On an entirely random note, I think it's funny how citroen is a brand of a car, yet means lemon in Dutch...wonder how well they drive.

Flour-less chocolate cake, raspberry cupcake

Bakken Met Passie is located at Albert Cuypstraat 51-53 in Amsterdam

Tangerine-Vanilla Tea Cakes

I got this delicious recipe from Laura's lovely blog Tutti-Dolci.  I made these tea cakes the other night and the smell of freshly squeezed tangerines brightened up the whole kitchen.  I don't know why I always get the sudden urge to bake at 9 at night but I do.  I'm warning you, these are addicting.  So much so that I gave most of them away to family and friends, because otherwise I could have eaten all. two. dozen.  Recipe below.    

Laura's Tangerine-Vanilla Tea Cakes (Adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients for Cakes
2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp tangerine zest
1/4 cup fresh tangerine juice
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Ingredients for Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp tangerine zest
2 Tbsp fresh tangerine juice
Tangerine slices, for garnish (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F and spray two 12-cup standard muffin pans with nonstick spray.  (I used cupcake wrappers  and just removed the paper after cooling since I had trouble with the Pam Spray).  Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until fluffy. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, and beat until combined; beat in vanilla and tangerine zest. Combine tangerine juice and buttermilk in a small bowl. Reduce speed to low and add half of flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat just until combined. Add buttermilk mixture, then finish with remaining flour mixture.
Using an electric hand mixer with clean and dry beaters, beat egg whites and cream of tartar in a clean bowl at high speed until stiff peaks form. Using a spatula, carefully fold egg whites into the cake batter in 2 additions. Spoon batter evenly into cups and bake 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Cool the tea cakes for 2 minutes in the pans on a wire rack, then carefully remove from pans and place them on the wire rack to cool completely.
To prepare glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, tangerine zest, and juice in a small bowl. Set rack with tea cakes over a piece of wax paper and dip tops of each cake into glaze; let glaze set before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days.

Pho Binh Restaurant in Seattle

Whenever I'm feeling under the weather, I turn to Asian food.  Sometimes Szechuan, other times spicy chicken teriyaki, and on this occasion pho.  Since it's not spicy, I like to add red pepper flakes to help clear out my cold.  I get my pho at Pho Binh-it's a no-frills place, in fact I've never eat inside the restaurant.  But they're quick, friendly, and efficient- I just call ahead and make my order to-go.  I like to order the chicken pho, then add in all the garnishes, squeeze a lime, spoon a little of the plum sauce, and throw in some spice.  After happily slurping the noodles and broth, I'm always guaranteed to feel better. 

Pho Binh is located at 13310 Lake City Way in Seattle.

Birthday Party

For my mom's birthday, S. went all out making caprese salad, spaghetti puttanesca, and bringing home a delicious cake from La Provence Patisserie and Cafe.  

Red Lantern Restaurant

Yesterday I was able to check out an "Asian cuisine" restaurant in the International District, Red Lantern.  We got food to-go and took it home for lunch.  (I'm excited to come back in the evening as the dinner menu is more extensive and several dishes caught my eye).  We enjoyed the garlic and peppercorn beef, the sesame chicken, and the mixed vegetables.  Apart from the yummy food, the highlight of this restaurant is the value (each entree/appetizer dish comes with rice and soup and portions are generous).  Service is also friendly- since we were getting food to-go, we were given our roasted corn tea (which comes with lunch) while we were waiting for the food.  Delicious!  The owner even showed us how they make it.  I'll definitely be stopping back for more.

Above: sesame chicken, sauteed garden vegetables

Cooking with the Barefoot Contessa: Perfect Roast Chicken and A One Year Anniversary

It's hard for me to believe but today is the one-year mark of when I first started this blog.  I thought it would be fun to finally get my own domain name, so now you can find me at wanderingvoyager.com.  In celebration, I would like to offer one of my favorite recipes.  Until a few months ago, I had never roasted a whole chicken before.  Ina Garten's recipe for Perfect Roast Chicken is unfussy yet delicious.  Everyone should have a reliable recipe for roast chicken in their cooking repertoire!  Check out the recipe below.

Ina Garten's Perfect Roast Chicken


Ingredients

• 1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise (don't worry about peeling it!)
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
• 1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
• 4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 bulb of fennel, tops removed, and cut into wedges
• Olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Pat outside dry with paper towel. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. (I had a little difficulty with that but luckily everything cooked evenly!)  Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. (If your oven is temperamental like mine, you can turn the chicken over for the last half hour of cooking time).  Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

Hingham Lobster Pound

This was the weather we found ourselves in last summer when we were back east in Massachusetts visiting relatives.  While the weather currently gracing us here in the Pacific Northwest leaves a lot to be desired, I hear New England is having beautiful spring weather.  On a night you don't feel like cooking, leave it to the pros and stop by the Hingham Lobster Pound.  It's a great bang for your buck and sure beats breaking a sweat in the kitchen when the mercury is triple digits.  I recommend the fried clam strips and homemade onion rings which hit the spot on a spring or summer evening.  

The Hingham Lobster Pound is located at: 4 Broad Cove Road  Hingham, MA 02043.  Ph: (781) 749-1984

Yogurt-Mint Pasta

The other day I stumbled upon the lovely food blog Gourmette NYC and found this fabulous recipe.  We didn't have tagliatelle on hand but the strozzapreti worked well.  This was our St. Patrick's Day dinner- the green from the freshly shelled peas and mint were a festive touch.  It's such an easy recipe and great for the spring and summer months.  I think it would taste delicious as a cold pasta salad as well, perfect for a picnic!

Recipe, from Laura of Gourmette NYC
Ingredients

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano (plus extra for garnish)
1/2 cup fresh mint, cut into ribbons
1/2 cup shelled peas
1 tbsp lemon zest (preferably from an organic lemon)
4 servings of pasta (the original recipe calls for tagliatelle)
Salt and pepper

Directions

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water and a small pot of water to a boil.

In the small pot, blanch peas until al dente, about 1-2 minutes. Drain the peas and reserve.

In the large pot, cook the pasta until al dente (follow package directions). Drain pasta and toss with yogurt, parmigiano, mint, peas, and lemon zest. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with parmigiano and a mint leaf. Serve immediately.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I don't know if it's from having an Irish grandmother or simply being American, but St. Patrick's Day is always celebrated in my house.  Off to get this year's preparations, I leave you with pictures from last year's St. Patrick's Day tea.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffed peppers are a great meal for entertaining because they taste great, you can use leftover rice, and they make a beautiful presentation.  After having this dish at Di Nero's in Cohasset, we were determined to make some of our own.  Whenever we make risotto, we often use the leftover rice for stuffed peppers the next day because the texture of Arborio rice works so well.  You can also use any other kind of rice such as brown rice which we did most recently.  Simply cut off the tops of the bell peppers and rather than waste them, finely chop them up (minus the stems) and fry them in olive oil, salt, and pepper until they are soft.  Then mix the chopped peppers with the leftover rice and add whatever chopped herbs (we like to use rosemary, thyme, basil, dill, etc.) you have on hand.  Stuff the hollowed out peppers with the rice mixture and place them in a glass baking dish.  Top with some fontina cheese and pop them in the oven at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the peppers are soft.

Tapas Party

Back from my trip yesterday, I woke up in typical jetlagged fashion this morning at 3am.  Until I upload my photos, here is a look back at a tapas dinner party we threw for our friends last month.  Although we only started prepping a few hours before, the beauty of this type of party is that it can be as little or as much as you make of it.  Following the Barefoot Contessa's golden rule of stress-free entertaining, we didn't make every dish from scratch.  There was the cheese and meat plate we put together with fig jam and the mixed olives bought from the deli.  Fresh caught prawns bought from the store to go with our homemade lemon butter dipping sauce.  And as far as cooking, everything was pretty simple.  We stuffed piquillo peppers (from a jar)  with tuna fish, mayonnaise, and lemon juice.  I tossed evenly-cut potatoes with Spanish paprika and oven roasted them.  I made a homemade aioli to go with that.  There were roasted curry chickpeas. Oven roasted chicken wings.  Simply-cooked asparagus.  

And then there was dessert.  Since M. is gluten-free, we whipped up a gluten-free mixed berry crumble.  There wasn't any measuring going on.  In a bowl, I thawed a bag of mixed fruit with a little sugar.  I put some brown sugar, rice flour, and gluten-free oats in the food processor.  Then I slowly added cold chunks of unsalted butter.  I pulsed the mixture until it got a crumbly texture.  I mixed the fruit with the crumble, adding extra crumble on top, and baked it in the oven at 350 F for about 45 minutes.