Surfing, Jackie Onassis, Diana Vreeland, and Shepherd's Pie! And, Yes, I can link them.

First a bit about surfing. Trying something new can often be a good thing, even if at first it may seem somewhat intimidating.  Like a new surf spot. This past weekend, after too many days of not being able to get in the water because of rain and then bigger swells than are good for me, things finally backed down. Unfortunately they backed down a little too much. When I got to my spot at Tower 26, the ocean was just completely flat. I mean, really flat! I headed down to Tower 24, where a couple of guys on boards were trying to catch some waves, but they were having no luck at all. So the day was looking like it might be a wash. Until I pulled out my phone to check Surfline and reports for Malibu and other spots. Venice seemed to be slightly better and was closer so I headed a bit south. Sure enough, just north of the Venice Pier some nice small waves were rolling in. There was a few other mellow day surfers already there when I paddled out, and I wound up having a blast on these little waves. Later that night we had Shepherd's Pie for dinner, which was made from leftover Roast Beef from Christmas Night dinner. Here it is:

What does legendary style maven and magazine editor Diana Vreeland have to do with surfing and Shepherd's Pie? Well take a look at this!

https://youtu.be/3wRmpc-Fh3o

Not only did Vreeland love surfers, but she thought skateboarders were great too. GREAT!!

So there's Vreeland. Did you know Diana Vreeland and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis were very dear friends? Well, they were, and one thing that Mrs. Vreeland would like to eat when she came to Mrs. Onassis's for dinner was Shepherd's Pie. This fact was picked up in a book called "Cooking For Madam," by Marta Sgubin, who was Mrs. Onassis's longtime cook. So the next time you find yourself with leftover roast (it could be beef, or lamb, or even chicken or turkey), make a Shepherd's Pie. Here's how:

Shepherd's Pie
(Recipe adapted from Marta Sgubin's "Cooking For Madam")
Serves 6

3-4 cups cooked roast beef or lamb (or turkey or chicken)
3 tbsps. butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tbsps. flour
1 3/4 to 2 cups beef stock (or chicken if you're going poultry)
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Mashed potatoes (recipe follows)
*note: if you have leftover vegetables you can throw them in too. I had a cup or so of cooked green beans, which worked really well. Just fold them into the sauce with the meat.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Finely chop the meat and set aside.  Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions and saute until tender and translucent, about five minutes.  Add garlic.  Saute 30 seconds more. Sprinkle in flour and stir, without browning, about two minutes, until flour is blended in. Slowly pour in stock and whisk. Bring to simmer and cook, whisking, until thickened about two or three minutes. Fold the chopped meat into the sauce. Season well with salt and fresh ground pepper.
2. Spoon the mixture into a two quart oven proof casserole. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top. Use a fork to rake a design into the potatoes. Dot with more butter if you like.
3. Place the dish on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the potatoes are browned and starting to crisp.

Mashed Potatoes

2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

2 tbsps. butter

1 tbsp. horseradish

Salt and Fresh ground pepper

About 1 cup milk

1. Place potatoes in medium pot and cover with cold salted water. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer potatoes until very tender, about 20 minutes. 
2. Drain potatoes and toss butter into the pot, along with horseradish and salt and pepper. Using a potato masher (or a ricer if you want a really find texture) mash the potatoes well.  Now start adding in milk, starting with about 1/2 cup. If the potatoes seem dry, add more milk, up to about a cup, until you reach a nice soft and smooth consistency.  Taste again for salt and pepper.

As always if you're looking for a good read, please also check out and pre-order my novel "Women Like Us" on Inkshares.  Here's that link:

https://www.inkshares.com/projects/women-like-us?referral_code=68914607

Sometimes It's Just Recon. In Surfing And Eating. Plus Trois Familia!

With fairly massive surf dominating much of California last week, I had to stay out of the water. Swell was way too big for the likes of me. But even good surfers were passing on some of the nasty conditions that were out there, all of this due to a pretty massive low pressure system blowing south and then east. Before this big swell really got going, though, I headed out to the beach because I thought I might get a session in. However, as is often the case, even if Surfline reports make it seem like it might be a good day for me, it turns out that you don't really know until you get to the sand and look for yourself. This was one of those times where when I got out there, it was clearly not a day in my wheelhouse. However, the day was not a total loss. I mostly surf around Santa Monica and occasionally Venice, and sometimes Zuma, or if we're lucky Carpinteria. But I've been so curious about Sunset Beach and Sunset Point, which are both closer to town. Sunset Point always looks sort of mellow, but I've been warned that it's deceptive, and that getting into those waves is tricky and requires a good bit of extra paddling. A check on Surfline revealed smaller waves at Sunset on this day, so I headed up there. I found a good spot to park, left the board on the car and just watched guys surf the waves that were coming around the point. Again, these were actually a bit on the big side for me, as was how to negotiate the paddle out, tricky because there's no real beach, just stairs down to some really big rocks. So I was happy just doing recon, observing, and from a vantage point you don't often get, which was up above surfers as they caught waves. This was interesting and somewhat instructional because one got a new perspective from this angle.  All in all, I was happy with this session, even though I didn't come close to wave catching. I did return to Santa Monica to just swim a bit because I didn't want to leave without getting wet.

Another recon mission this week was to check out Trois Familia, the new spot in Silver Lake from Jon Shook, Vinny Dotolo, and Ludo Lefebvre, the trio also behind the wonderful Petit Trois and Trois Mec. Trois Familia is only open for brunch and lunch, and these dudes have come up with a menu that's somewhat French, somewhat Mexican and, of course, entirely delicious-sounding. I'd seen reports (including from Jonathan Gold in the LA Times) about the potato tacos. Sam and I discussed checking out Trois Familia, but we figured on a weekend it would be a mob scene, so I decided to do a recon during the week, early-ish, hoping it wouldn't be too crowded. Of course, even mid-week, it was pretty busy. If I hadn't been solo, there would have been a wait. But I snagged a seat at a table with other diners -- it's all communal seating on picnic tables in a space that used to house Alegria. You grab your own silverware too so if that, and sharing tables, bothers you, this isn't your kind of place. I don't mind it. It can be fun eavesdropping actually, and everybody seems pretty stoked about what they're eating and sharing their suggestions.  I really wanted the tacos, but I must say almost everything on the menu sounds so good, so a return will have to be in order. Here are the tacos:

So there was potato, shredded carrot, lots of diced chilis (I think Jalapeños but they might have been Serrano...they had some heat so FYI) and definitely lime. Then there's Jack cheese and creme fraiche. All of this goodness is stuffed into a crispy taco shell, which is then stuck inside a soft taco! The combination -- crisp, gooey from the cheese and spicy is just incredible. I loved these tacos, and they're vegetarian too. If you're in the Silver Lake area and you're looking for a good brunch spot, Trois Familia will not disappoint. Here's their link:

www.troisfamilia.com