Delicious Pizza Alert! Head Over to Grandma's Former Territory Fairfax Avenue! And A Return To Surf!

I didn't think there was going to be surfing last week because of the recent storms, but that turned out not to be true. More on surfing later. First let's talk pizza. I have mentioned that I love pizza. Several times. I just do. I love eating pizza. I love making pizza at home. So every time I hear of some new pizza that's getting good buzz, I always want to check it out, especially if it's the kind of place that sells thin crust NY style pizza by the slice, which is the pizza of my youth (everybody has a pizza of their youth, right?). Anyway, I'd been hearing about Prime Pizza on Fairfax. It's across the street from Animal and it's from the people behind The Golden State and other restaurants. Oh, side note about Fairfax Avenue: it suddenly hit me that, wow, the changes on this street are just kind of astonishing. When I was a kid and used to come out to California on visits, Fairfax is where my grandmother hung out! Grandma Esther had her bakeries and her other food shops and it was all old Jewish Bubbes like her on the street back in the day. Most of that world seems to be gone, except for Canters of course and maybe one or two other shops. It's all hipster kids. Times change! Here's another fun thing about Grandma Esther -- you didn't want to mess with her. She was a tough old lady. She'd take the bus up to Fairfax, and one day walking home from the bus stop, some dude tried to grab her purse. Well, she held on to it and fought him off. Don't mess with old ladies!

But back to Prime. You walk in to a clean, modern space. White subway tiles on the walls do indeed invoke that NY Vibe. Place your order for slices, or a whole pie if you're really hungry, and get it to go, or you can pull up a stool at the counter, where there's parm, red pepper flakes and oregano waiting in shakers -- this is how it should be. And how was the pizza? Well, here's a look at my order of one cheese, one pepperoni--

It was very excellent pizza. I'm a big fan of Vito's and also the Joe's Pizza locations in Santa Monica and Hollywood and also Garage Pizza in Los Feliz. But Prime may just be the new favorite. Everything was pretty perfect with this pizza, especially the crust, which is all important. It was crisp, but not shatteringly so. You could fold the slice nicely. Also you could see bubbles inside the thicker end of the crust, which had a nice yeasty chew. The sauce was the ideal combination of sweet, with just a hint of spice. Then just the right amount of cheese on top, and let me say something about the pepperoni -- take a closer look, first--

The discs were a little smaller in diameter than ones you'd normally see, but sliced just a little thicker. Definitely a cut above the pepperoni you usually get. (sorry the picture is a little fuzzy. I was hungry and couldn't control myself, I guess).

All in all super delicious pizza at Prime and I can't wait to go back and eat some more. In fact I would have saved this for a post-surf lunch, but like I said, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get in the water last week because of the storms and all the unsettled waves. But Friday things started to mellow out, and I did go out for a session. It was super, super fun, with pretty gentle waves and the mid-tide that I like best. I'll give myself props for one more thing. Occasionally a larger set of waves would roll through, larger than I'm generally comfortable with. But I stuck with it and was kept cool. That's another step in the right direction in this surf odyssey.

So if you find yourself in the Fairfax district around lunch or dinner time -- or any time you need a snack -- get yourself to Prime Pizza. Or maybe you're lucky enough to be in their delivery zone. Anyway, here's the vitals:

Prime Pizza:  www.primepizza.la.com

Another Storm Puts The Kibosh On Weekend Surf. But We Can Still Have A Delicious Lunch!

So another pretty massive storm rolled through Cali, which is excellent news for drought-relief, although of course we need way more rain and snow. And although it had stopped raining by the weekend, the ocean was still pretty unsettled. It seemed like a good idea to hold off on heading out to the beach. But that doesn't mean we couldn't have the kind of lunch that would have been quite tasty after some time in the water.

I'm talking about a Frito Pie. Have you ever had one? It almost sounds kind of dirty, doesn't it? Well, it isn't. From what I understand it's a Tex-Mex kind of thing, and it involves cutting open a bag of Fritos, spooning on a big heaping mess of Chili and topping it with cheese, sour cream and onions, and maybe some tomato, lettuce and onion. I've known about this concoction for a while, but I'd never actually tried it. In fact, in Los Feliz there's a fairly new restaurant called Home State that features a Frito Pie on its menu, so I'm going to get there soon and will report back. Anyway, as that most recent storm was rolling in, I decided to make a pot of chili, because that's a good thing to eat on a cool, rainy night. And we had leftovers, so why not a Frito pie? Below is just about all you need to put one together--

First up was reheating the chili. (Oh, side note here: many Texans, I'm sure, would turn up their noses at this chili not only because it has beans in it, but also because it was made with ground turkey. Oh, and also because I used chili powder and not real chills. This Chili is really good, but it's a very middle-of-the-road, sort of 1950's housewife kind. It's easy to make for a crowd, though, and the recipe is below). But back to the Frito Pie. So while the chili was reheating, I shredded some cheddar cheese, sliced up some onion and tomato and shredded some lettuce. The bags of Fritos were sliced open. Then I laid down some Chili and topped it with the cheese and other fixings, along with a good dollop of Sour Cream. A while back I made up a batch of pickled jalapeños when we had a bunch of them in the garden. They'd have been really good on it too, but I don't have any left! Here's how the final Frito Pies looked:

It's kind of like nachos, really. The cheese comes into contact with the hot chili and melts. The Fritos lose a little of their crunch, but get a bit of everything, and it's a nice bite of deliciousness, a little spicy and salty, but cool from the sour cream. So the next time you have leftover Chili, I recommend Frito Pies.

Here's a super-easy chili recipe (which is adapted form Craig Claiborne's old New York Times Cookbook that I've had forever).

Chile Con Carne
Serves about 4-6

1 medium onion, diced
1 green pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Jalapeño, diced, and seeded if you want it milder (or add more Jalapeños if you like it hotter)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound dark meat ground turkey (or you can use ground beef -- I'd go with chuck)
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 bay leaf
1 14 oz. can peeled tomatoes, crushed with your hands, with their juice
3 cups water
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 can red kidney beans, drained.
Shredded cheddar, sour cream and diced onions for topping
*you can easily double or triple this recipe

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium sized pot. When hot, toss in the diced onion, pepper, garlic and jalapeño. Saute until the vegetables soften and begin to turn golden.
2. Add the ground turkey to the pot. Stir and cook until meat is broken up and starting to brown.
3. When meat is brown, add the chili powder, cumin, oregano and bay leaf.  Stir and let the seasonings brown a little.
4. Add the crushed tomatoes, water and salt and pepper to taste. Bring chili to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, about one and one-half hours, until the liquid has reduced and the chili has thickened. Add the kidney beans. Simmer until the chili is as thick as you like, about another thirty minutes or so. Add more salt and pepper if needed. 

So that's it. I usually serve chili over rice or sometimes cornbread. If you have leftover chili and want to make Frito Pie (or chili dogs are good!) you might find it's thickened up too much. If that happens, you can thin it out by adding a little tomato sauce.

Fun Surf Yesterday Before Another Big Storm. Plus Another Chef Choi Inspired Lunch At Home.

Well, last week's storm has come and gone, and guess what? Here comes another. This is such great news. And this time Mother Nature heard my request because snow is expected in the mountains, so here's hoping for ski time up at Mt. Baldy. In fact this winter I may try to cross off that item that's at the top of the bucket list: ski and surf in the same day. Can I do it? Stay tuned.

But in looking at the surf reports, it seemed like yesterday, Monday, would be the only day possible this week for a mellow day aficionado like me to get in the water. At Santa Monica it was 2-3 foot waves so I headed out because starting today waves are in the 4 to 8 foot range and then that big storm comes. But yesterday turned out to be a pretty fun day for me. Actually, to be honest, when I got to the beach, the waves were a little bigger than I expected. But I paddled out and I caught a couple of smaller ones and almost got a good long ride on one! For me that's awesome.

Afterwards, of course, I needed lunch, and while I didn't have the time to get downtown to Roy Choi's Chego for a Kimchi Spam Bowl, which is what I was kind of in the mood for, we had some leftover rice at home. We also had some Dave's Kimchee from the Silver Lake Farmer's market, and we had eggs. We had ginger and garlic, and I have chives and cilantro in the garden. I was missing the Spam, but we do Meatless Monday so it that's okay. It was just a Kimchi rice bowl. But it was still delicious. Look, here it is:

If you want to make it at home, here's my version. I'm sure it's missing some good stuff they put in the bowls at Chego, but it works:

For one Kimchi Rice Bowl.

1 small clove garlic
1 tsp chopped fresh ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce, or more if you like
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
3 tbsp. canola oil
1 cup Kimchi, chopped
2 large eggs, beaten
About 2 cups leftover white or brown rice
Salt and fresh ground pepper
2 tbsp. chopped chives
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
Sriracha sauce

1. Peel and chop the garlic. Set aside, along with the chopped ginger.
2. In a small bowl mix the soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil and set aside.
3. In a wok, or large saute pan, heat 1 tbsp canola oil. When hot, add the Kimchi. Stir-fry until the Kimchi is heated through, then remove to a bowl.
4. Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet. When hot again, add the beaten eggs. Let the egg cook until set, stirring, then remove to the bowl with the kimchi.
5. Wipe out the skillet. Add the last tablespoon of oil. When hot, toss in the garlic and ginger.  Let it sizzle about a minute, then add the rice. Stir, breaking up the rice. After a couple of minutes, when the rice is brown and fragrant, add the soy sauce/vinegar/sesame oil mixture and stir to blend.
6. Add in the egg and kimchi.  Stir everything around, breaking up the egg. Add some salt and fresh ground pepper.
7. Transfer fried rice to bowl. Top with chives, cilantro and as much sriracha as you like.

Here's a couple of snaps of the ingredients gathered and then prepped. This process goes fast once you get started, so no time to photograph each step.

If I had the Spam, I'd definitely dice some up, fry it in the skillet or wok after the egg and then mix it in at the end. But I know not everybody is into Spam so it's easy to leave out.

So next time you have extra rice on hand, do this with it. Or if you want to get the ultimate version, get downtown to Chego!

Chego: www.eatchego.com

Rainy Day No Good For Surf. But A Good Day For Cooking Suzanne Goin's Short Ribs!

While this whale of a storm just rolled in, nobody would call the drought over here in Cali. We need a lot more rain for that, and while we're at it how about some snow in the local mountains so we can ski? Huh, how about it? But while this much-needed rain is good for so many reasons, it's not too great in surf world. For one, depending on the storm, the seas can be choppy and the waves can suck. For another, if you surf in an urban area anywhere close to a storm drain, it's probably a good idea to stay out of the water for a couple of days. However, being stuck inside on a chilly, rain-soaked day isn't a bad thing, food wise. In fact it's a good thing, because it's perfect comfort food weather, and perfect for a long, slow braise. Which got me thinking about Suzanne Goin's recipe for beef short ribs, that mainstay that's been on the menu at Lucques since the start, I think (and for good reason). This was dinner tonight, and it was really really delicious.

Actually I didn't set out today to make short ribs. But I stopped in at McCall's Meat and Fish while out and about, and one of the first things I saw when I walked in the door were these beautiful guys. Don't they look sweet?

And while I didn't have Goin's recipe from "Sunday Suppers At Lucques" in front of me because the book was at home, I've made it before so I decided to wing it. Oh, side note: Suzanne Goin, and her partner in many of her ventures, Caroline Styne, rock. If you've never been to Lucques or A.O.C., you have to go. Definitely don't miss The Hungry Cat, the seafood-oriented spot she opened with husband David Lentz, first in Hollywood and now with outposts in Santa Monica and Santa Barbara. If you haven't gotten to Larder yet, like me I admit, Go! Goin is a quintessential California chef -- her food is sophisticated, but not in an intimidating way, and she's a champion for using seasonal and local ingredients. But back to those short ribs. When I got home with them and looked up the recipe, there were only a couple of things I didn't have on hand: fresh pearl onions (I have some frozen) and fresh thyme (we had some dried). I did, however, have this beautiful chard from the garden to go alongside the ribs, with Goin's potato puree, of course as well! Here's the freshly harvested chard--

I'm not going to give the recipe for the short ribs here. If you want it, just google Suzanne Goin and braised short ribs and there are numerous versions of it out there. But here are some glimpses of the process.

You see the ribs just above. At McCall's they come in one big piece of three ribs, but just run your knife down between the bones and you can separate them. Then I seasoned them well with salt and fresh ground pepper and then refrigerated them for a while. Meanwhile, I diced up some carrot, celery and onion for the braise.

Onto browning the meat. As Goin says in the recipe, take your time with this. It'll take a good ten to fifteen minutes to get the short ribs browned on all the meaty sides, but when you're done, they'll look like this:

Next up, the vegetables get a sauté, and then wine and broth goes in the pot along with the ribs. Like you see here:

Then it's into the oven for two to three hours at a low and slow 325 degrees. By the way, is there a better aroma then short ribs braising in the oven on a cold rainy day? Man, it smells good in this house! And while the meat was in the oven, I made the potatoes and prepped the chard. I don't know if you're aware of this, but you can actually make a potato puree, or even mashed potatoes, ahead of time and reheat them without too much of a problem. I used to be afraid they would turn gluey or something, but they don't. You can reheat in the microwave, or in a slow oven. Anyway here's a batch of whipped potatoes.

On, in a slight departure from Goin's recipe, I used buttermilk because we had some on hand to use up, so no cream, and I also didn't pass them twice through a Tamis! It's just us tonight -- if it was for company I'd put in the extra effort though.

Just before serving, I roughly chopped that chard and then sautéed it in some olive oil, with a little garlic (again a slight departure from Goin, who tosses in the roasted pearl onions).

Once the meat was fully braised, remove the ribs to a baking sheet and let them brown in a 400 degree oven. Then, like Goin instructs, I strained the vegetables out of the sauce and degreased it. In another slight departure (I'm sorry Ms. Goin!) I thickened it with a little cornstarch mixed with water. We just like a sauce that has a bit more heft to it.

And so that was it, which you see on the plate in the first picture. I forgot how great this recipe is, so thank you Suzanne Goin  and my well-worn copy of "Sunday Suppers at Lucques" for reminding me!

For all things Goin, here are some vitals:

Lucques: www.lucques.com

A.O.C.: www.aocwinebar.com

The Hungry Cat: www.thehungrycat.com

Tavern: www.tavernla.com

The Larder at Maple Drive: www.thelarderatmaple.com

The Larder at Burton Way: www.larderatburtonway.com

Books: "Sunday Suppers At Lucques", "The A.O.C. Cookbook"

For excellent beef short ribs: www.mccallsmeatandfish.com