A very special Frenchgiving

Yesterday we all celebrated thanksgiving by fattening ourselves up with some good food and by being thankful that our liver can still handle the copious amount of alcohol that is added to the mix. This year I didn't get the chance to spend this holiday with my family so we celebrated it with some friends in a beautiful apartment that overlooks the Santa Monica boardwalk with its Ferris wheel in the background. Since I enjoy cooking, I volunteered to cook and went grocery shopping the day before.

I usually enjoy cooking the giant turkey while coming up with an inventive way of making an original stuffing, but this year I wasn't really in the mood for turkey especially after eating the traditional thanksgiving meal a few days earlier at work. They even had a cooking contest at work which I didn't participate in because I was too tired after diving in the cold rain the day before, but it had me thinking of fun dishes that I would enjoy eating on Thanksgiving.

Here's the menu I came up with:
- Pizza with butternut squash roasted in Honey, Goat Cheese, Prosciutto, yellow peppers, Mushrooms
- Beef Bourguignon
- Moelleux au chocolat

It was quite a challenge for a stoner since the "beef bourguignon" usually needs to be prepared way in advance but I did the express version of the recipe.

Beef Bourguignon (6 people)
- 3 lbs of beef Stew
- Beef Broth
- Garlic
- onions
- Carrots
- Cilantro (It's usually Parsley but I like cilantro better)
- Fresh Thyme
- Bacon
- A bottle of wine
- A shot of brandy (It's usually cognac but since I didn't have any I used brandy)
- A tablespoon of flour
- Mustard

Cut the onions, garlic and carrots in a bowl, add the beef, cilantro and thyme and season is with salt and pepper. Add half of the bottle of wine and the shot of cognac and let it marinate for 24 hours, mixing the marinade every 6 hours.

At the beginning of thanksgiving day I sizzled the beef in a pan after draining the marinade in another bowl. Once the meat gets browns, add a few pieces of lard or bacon and let it fry with the mix until it's cooked.

Put the meat in a crock pot and add the marinade on top. Add the flour and the mustard. Let is stew on high for at least 6-7 hours.Add wine or beef broth if there isn't enough marinade for the meat to stew. I also added mushrooms in the stew. I served it with basil linguine.

Pizza: I have a small kitchen so I didn't make the dough but Trader Joe's has some pre-made pizza dough that is very convenient and quite good. I shredded the butternut squash in aluminium foil, added olive oil honey and pepper and threw the mix in the over on 375 for 40 minutes.When it was almost time to eat I rolled the crust into some shape that closely resembled a pizza and put it in the over for 10 minutes with nothing on it so it would get a little hard before adding the tomato paste and the veggies that were going to make the crust soggy. Once the crust got a little hard I took it out of the over and added all the toppings except the prosciutto. When the pizza was ready (and my pizza ended up being a little soggy so I guess I sohuld have left the crust in the oven even longer before adding the toppings) I added the strips of prosciutto on top before serving it.

Moelleux au chocolat: This wouldn't be "gourmet stoner" without a reference to our friend Mary-Jane, so here is my fancy version of an edible.
- 200g of weed butter
- 250g of 72% Dark chocolate
- 100g of flour
- 200g of powdered sugar
 - 6 eggs
- one teaspoon of vanilla extract
- one tablespoon of honey

Heat the chocolate and the butter in a bain-marie. in a bowl mix the egg whites with the flour. Add the powdered sugar and the yolks and add the melted chocolate. Add the vanilla extract and honey and mix well.
Put in the oven on 375 degrees for 20 minutes. This cake was deliciously dangerous.

At the end of the meal we played poker, shared a few more drinks, laughed a lot and stared at the man sleeping on his stool, always wondering if he was going to fall head first on the ground. It was a fantastic thanksgiving with great company.

"Bigfoot West", Culver City

I think I found my new favorite cocktails. Bigfoot has some specialty drinks that are unique and full of flavor served in mason jars. I tried the "Thirsty Crow", it's a mix of Rye whiskey, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, and ginger beer. It was a fabulous drink that was strong enough to give most people a nice enjoyable buzz, and the ginger beer gave it a nice kick. The "Bourberry" is another cocktail we tried, It had real strawberries, mint, lime, ginger beer and Buffalo Trace bourbon. This would be the girlie version of my drink but since I do love girlie drinks, I enjoyed this one as well. They even have a homemade "performance enhancing" herbal liquor if your stash of Viagra is running low. It is called the "Horny Goat Elixir", it is supposed to improve endurance, libido and mood and costs 25$ I have to admit that I did not try it but they say it is suitable for both men and women. Of course they also offer all the drinks that most reputable bars offer with a good selection of draft beers.

The interior design of the bar is also a must-see. It looks like you're having a drink in a cabin in the mountain far away from Los Angeles and the crowd is laid back. The music also tends to be eclectic. It goes from lounge music with a fast tempo to old french classics on weeknights but it is always great music. You can smoke on their outside patio where alochol is allowed.

Not only do I highly recommend this bar for any nights of drinking on the Westside, but I can't wait to try their other drinks. AND I can walk there from my apartment so there is nothing to worry about if I enjoy too many of their cocktails.

"Laurel Tavern", Studio City

 

Lunch breaks can get expensive when you like food and beer, and right around the corner from my editing bay, "Laurel Tavern" serves both. They have a good menu with fresh produces and you can get unusual items such as roast marrowbones or a chorizo fondue and you can share plates such as the "prosciutto and burrata" or the mussels as an appetizer. They have fantastic burgers, the atmosphere is always casual and the crowd usually young. If you go on a Friday evening you might be able to spot a celebrity in the crowd.

Our drinks came fast and the gorgeous waitress was the perfect amount of nice: Nice enough that we don't have to look for her every time we want something but not too overly nice that it becomes obvious she's only being friendly for her tips and that we want her to get off our back.



The Racer 5 has become one of my favorite beers, but I'm not sure it's a goo choice with an actual meal. It's s full bodied beer that will give you a buzz in no time but it tends to overpower the tastes of  food, even though the chorizo sliders were quite strong and well seasoned. 


The second beer.....as a dessert....was probably not necessary but then again maybe the first one wasn't either. However, both beers contributed to the awesome culinary experience that is "Laurel Tavern".

"Rush Street" Comfort food

When I was in High school friday evenings meant buying some Popov, partying unil dawn and passingo ut in somebody's backyard. Now I enjoy finishing the week with a delicious meal. I have a few restaurants I enjoy going to for comfort food around L.A and "Rush Street" in Culver city is definitely one of them.

I started my meal with the one item I always have to order when I go there: their Mac & Cheese. It's simply the best mac & Cheese I've had around town and I have tried this dish at lot of other places that are known for it. They bake is with truffle oil, garlic, and a blend of local farmhouse cheeses. It is not only delicious but pleasing to the eye with the crust perfectly baked and the cheese dripping on the side of the bowl. It makes it fun to pick the grilled cheese of the bowl at the end.

After cleaning out that plate I tried their grilled prime sirloin steak, topped with gorgonzola and red wine reduction, over grilled asparagus, sautéed spinach and potato cake. It was a little overcooked again but it was delicious and the potato cake was surprisingly flavorful.

When we were enjoying a digestive (Malibu and pineapple juice, because I like girlie drinks) on their patio we met a guy who hid next to us and asked us if it was okay to light up a joint. I didn't see any reason why he shouldn't but I kept an eye on the big security guard that was happening to walk by when he took his first puff. He even offered to share his doobie with us but it looked very small and I didn't want to burn my fingertips or my lips so I passed. It's always a great time at "Rush Street" when it's not completely packed on Saturday nights.

Lala's Grill

Yesterday two of my friends and I went to Lala's for Lunch. Lala's is an Argentinian restaurant with delicious marinated steaks (skirt, filet mignons, New-York Steak), a variety of deeep-fried appetizers including huge empanadas, and a homemade sangria that will put a smile on your face. There's an option for every budget and there are a few different locations around L.A. The portions are quite big which made me happy. They bring you a basket of bread to deep in a delicious garlic sauce while you look at the menu and you have to pace yourself with it or your appetite will be gone before you even get your food. There is a good wine list and the "entrana" (skirt steak) could have easily been shared with a friend. It was a little overcooked but the marinade makes the meat so tender that I didn't care. To top it off, the waitress turned this good meal into the perfect lunch by offering us a free dessert to share at the end of the meal (picture above). It was a delicious flan covered with a thick layer of caramel and a whipped cream so dense that you could cut it with a knife. Needless to say, it was the stoner's perfect meal.

Giant Cookie

I went to the Canon event at Paramount studios yesterday. They were unveiling their latest digital video camera and it does look amazing. I was pretty stoned when I got there so I stopped for some food on the way there not realizing there was going to be free food at the event. They treated us well there with sandwiches, drinks, fruits and giant cookies. Perfect munchies. And I have to say that this had to be one of the biggest cookie I had ever seen. It was a stoner's dream come true and the tiny cup of coffees they were giving for free made the cookie look even bigger, which was a bit trippy so I had to take a picture....before devouring it.