Big Winter Swells Mean A Lot Of Looking (And Learning) And Eating

Big winter swells hitting both Northern and Southern California are great news for most surfers, who live for this kind of stuff. For the more mellow-inclined like me, it's good surf-watching weather. You can actually learn a lot by watching surfers do their thing, and so my last few outings at the beach have mostly been about observation. Also, for the longest time I've been wanting to give Topanga a try. Often when you drive PCH and you pass Topanga the surf looks pretty mellow, with waves that don't seem too intimidating rolling around the point. But, as in many things about life, looks can be deceiving. In fact I think I once consulted with my former surf teacher about Topanga and I'm pretty sure he warned me that not all is as it seems, but I have a bad habit of not listening to good solid advice and and just forging ahead, which is something I am always trying to change. Anyway, not too long ago, with big stormy swells making conditions out of my comfort zone at Venice and Santa Monica, I noticed things might be a little quieter by Topanga, so I figured I would check it out. Well, the first couple of surf-checks revealed waves that I wasn't liking the looks of. Then came the day where things did look better. So I suited up, grabbed the Greco and headed for the water. Now, the tide was going out on this particular day, which revealed something I hadn't noticed before about Topanga -- rocks! Lots of them. Rocks everywhere. You have to negotiate these rocks into order to get into the water, and it's a little tricky. This was not entirely new to me -- Little Dume has rock issues too but it also has a rock-free area where you can wade in without worry. So I negotiated the rocks (not easy!) and started a paddle out -- and then, not sure what, but something spooked me. It was probably a combination of things -- the current much stronger than expected, plus how far it was to paddle out, plus another surfer coming close as he rode a wave in. Anyway, it was a total fail and I turned around and headed back to the beach (or...rocks!) as fast as my arms would take me. So chalk that up to some days the surfboard also works as a lunch caddy, like you see in this picture here!

That was, by the way, a very delicious sandwich, a BLT and C, or bacon, lettuce, tomato and cheese sandwich. It sort of was a consolation prize, I guess, for doing so badly. The good news is the big swell backed off, and yesterday I got in some nice water time. For the first time in what feels like forever I caught a couple of waves, got up and got my little ride. So whatever you're doing that frustrates you? Keep doing it. And if you have a bad day, eat a good sandwich. You'll feel better.

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

It's The Smile That Gives It Away. Plus Flatbreads!

I've had good days and bad days in the surf (and for sure more bad than good). But one thing that often stays the same is the smile on my face. Because any time I can get in the water I consider a good time. I've had sessions when my performance seriously sucked, but recently when this happened this lady I've come to know who surfs and teaches swimming commented on how I was smiling as I headed to my car.  I fessed up and told her how bad I'd done, but she just laughed it off. Yesterday was a super mellow day. My kind of day. And I did pretty good so I must have been smiling extra big because not one but two people made comments as I came out of the water. I guess maybe the lesson here is it's good to find a way to smile when things are bad as well as when things are good. Because it's infectious -- people notice.

Another thing that makes me smile? Well, if I've spent a bit of time on a recipe, it's always good to find a way to repurpose leftovers. Maybe it's because I value frugality, but when I can make something new out of something old it makes me happy. For instance I recently received the wonderful gift of Chef Tal Ronnen's cookbook, "Crossroads," which features recipes from his most excellent vegan restaurant of the same name here in LA. There are many recipes I want to try in this book, but the first one I went for was flatbreads with tapenade and roasted cauliflower. These came out delicious, but I had enough flatbread dough left for another meal. I wasn't going to need them for a few days, but according to the recipe they're good to freeze, so I popped the extra in the freezer.
A few days later, defrosted, they became the post-surf (non vegan this time) lunch you see here:

That's smoked salmon, creme fraiche, freshly squeezed lemon juice and capers on top of the flatbreads fresh out of the oven.  Totally simple, but super delicious. Here's how to make these very versatile flatbreads:

Flatbreads
(adapted from Tal Ronnen's Crossroads cookbook)

1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 cup, plus 2 tbsps. lukewarm water
1 teaspoon sugar
2 3/4 cups bread flour, or more, plus additional for dusting
2 tsps. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the bowl and more for brushing on dough
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine yeast, water and sugar. Stir gently to dissolve yeast and sugar. Let the mixture stand until it looks foamy, about 10 minutes (if it doesn't, toss it and start again...it means your yeast is no good).
2. At low speed slowly add the flour in three batches. When the dough starts to come together, increase speed to medium and add the oil, salt and pepper (side note: I had to keep adding small amounts of flour at this point...the dough was just way too wet, but it may have something to with humidity so you'll have to judge).  Knead the dough in the mixer, stopping the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook, until the dough has come together and is no longer sticky, about 10 minutes.
3. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough for a few minutes more, until it's smooth and elastic.
4. Form the dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour. Meanwhile, if you have a pizza stone (and you should!) place it in the oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees.
5. Divide dough into four equal portions and roll each into a ball. If you're only using two, wrap the remaining two in several layers of plastic (you can oil it if you want; I didn't). You can keep it in the refrigerator up to five days, and the freezer up to a month. I froze two, and took them out of the freezer the day before needed. A couple of hours before baking, place the dough balls on a floured board to come to room temperature.

When you're ready to bake the flatbreads, here's a couple of tricks I've learned for getting pizza, or  flatbreads like these, into the oven without making a big mess.

1. If you have a pizza peel line it with a piece of parchment paper. Dust the parchment paper with cornmeal.
2. On a well floured board press and stretch one piece of dough until you have an oval, approximately 8 inches long and 6 inches wide. Transfer dough to parchment. Do the same with a second ball of dough. You should have enough room to do two flatbreads at a time.
3. With a fork prick the surface of the flatbreads all over. Lightly brush flatbreads with olive oil. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper.
4. Carefully slide the parchment paper with the flatbreads onto your pizza stone. Bake for ten to fifteen minutes, until lightly browned all over (after about 6-8 minutes, if you like, you can remove the parchment from underneath the flatbreads but you can also just leave it).
5. Let flatbreads cool slightly. Then top however you like.  For the ones above, just spread on some Creme Fraiche, then top with thinly sliced smoked salmon. Spoon on some capers, squeeze on some fresh lemon juice and you're good to go.

Here's that vegan version, as mentioned.

If you're looking for a great vegan restaurant experience in LA, definitely hit up Crossroads on Melrose.  For more about it, here's the link:

www.crossroadskitchen.com

If you're looking for a great book to read, or give as a gift, here's a link to Inkshares, where you can search and pre-order my novel "Women Like Us".

www.inkshares.com

William Finnegan's "Barbarian Days" - Best Book About Surfing Ever? Plus Burgerlords!

It has taken me a while to get to William Finnegan's "Barbarian Days," which is all about Finnegan's life as a surfer, beginning with his early days in Hawaii and California.  I haven't read that many books on surfing, but I have to say I am totally enthralled by this book, and if you have any interest at all in surfing -- or what goes on inside the mind of a surfer -- go and get a copy right away because it's so, so good.  Even though I am such a bad surfer still, and I've only been at it a relatively short time, I relate to so much in this book (which, by the way, is also a great portrait of California and Hawaii in the 1960's and 1970's, which I always find fascinating and so cool). Also, I've learned important things from this book -- for instance I'm constantly referring to myself as Kook, which is surfer slang for a dorky surfer. However, what I did not know is that Kook comes from "...kuk, a Hawaiian word for excrement"! This is good information to have, and it paints a colorful picture, doesn't it? I guess what Finnegan really nails for me is a sort of obsession, which I guess applies to surf enthusiasts of all stripes. He began surfing as a kid, and while I don't have that (I have the sort of equivalent of that on skis, though), what I do have is surfing on the brain -- I think about it all the time. When I'm not in the water, I'm wondering when I can get back in. In many ways I've been rearranging my life around a surf schedule, and so Finnegan's obsession totally rings true. How many times a day can you look at Surfline cams? Many.

Another takeaway from "Barbarian Days" is the surfer's connection to nature. This is in some ways obvious -- you're in the ocean so can't get much closer than that -- but also in less tangible ways. You begin to understand -- or try to understand -- things like swell direction and swell size, and what it means when storms are churning away down in Baja because they're going to have a bearing on where you might surf and when.  But also it's just about appreciating things. Like the other day was a pretty good day for me in Santa Monica. Waves were on the small side, and there was the mid-tide I always like, but once again there were dolphins passing lazily by, and pelicans soaring overhead, and the water was nice and clear. It felt so good to just be out there. I was thinking about what to eat after the time in the water and, maybe because it was just such a pretty perfect Southern California day I wanted to do something nice for the planet, which means eating something vegetarian or even vegan. So it was a good day to hit up a new spot I'd read about downtown, in Chinatown, Burgerlords. This is a the vegan cheeseburger I ordered--

I'm generally not a huge fan of veggie or vegan burgers -- if you're gonna have a burger, go to In-n-Out for goodness sakes -- but pictures I'd seen of these made it look really delicious, and I have to say it was. Did it taste like meat? Not really, but it was hearty and filling, and I felt really good about eating it. I forgot to ask if the cheese was vegan. I suspect it was regular cheese, but if you're a total vegan get it without. The fries were prefect too, crispy and salty and hot. It's an interesting spot for lunch too, in the middle of this old-school Chinatown mall. I noticed a bunch of elderly Chinese men milling about, studying all the hipsters and such who were eating at Burgerlords. It was as if they were seeing the future and they weren't quite sure what to make of it.

I'll definitely go back to Burgerlords to try the real burgers but this vegan version definitely hit the spot.

So go!  And get William Finnegan's "Barbarian Days".  It's from Penguin Press.

And by the way, if you're looking for a good novel, please visit www.inkshares.com and search for "Women Like Us".  You can pre-order a book, and I will thank you heartily!

www.burgerlords.com

14,000 Days Of Surfing? 'Every Day Dale', Is Old School Surf Royalty. Plus Roscoe's For Another Old School Lunch!

Have you ever heard of Dale Webster? No? Well, to be honest, I hadn't either until recently, but if you surf -- and even if you don't -- this man is an inspiration. Why? Because, since September of 1975, Dale has surfed every single day. Yes, every single day. That's something like over 14,000 of them. Over forty years. He's only stopping now because he has to have minor surgery, and then, at some point, he says he'll get back in the water. But still -- 14,000 days of surfing! Man, we should all be so lucky. Dale surfed on good days and bad. Dale surfed when the sun was shining and when storms were so brutal the wind and rain slashed and bloodied his face. Now that's perseverance. Also Dale had something else to say in this recent interview in Surfer Magazine that struck a few chords. He had to surf three good waves in order to count the surf session as complete, and he was asked how he came to the three-wave idea. Dale said the idea came from Doc Paskowitz (another surf legend...Google him) and surfer Phil Edwards, who didn't consider the wave real unless you surfed it all the way in to the beach, with you fins scraping into the sand. That's where I really started paying attention, because that's still a huge goal for me. To get a long enough ride on one wave is an accomplishment for me. To ride three all the way into the beach is something I would love to be able to do. Okay, so new goal: to surf at least one wave all the way into the beach because I generally wipe out about halfway. I wish I could be like Dale and surf every day, but right now that's not possible. Still, it's always good to have goal. Oh, and Dale also had this to say, which I totally relate to -- When asked what surfing taught him, Dale said this: "Surfing is really a challenge. Sometimes you end up looking for perfect waves that only exist in magazines. But when you go to the beach, you have to surf the waves you have on hand. It may not be barreling, but the act of putting on a suit, going out there, and just being in the water feels wonderful." It's that last part that really struck a chord. I have such a long way to go in my surfing life, but just getting out there does, indeed, always feel wonderful.

Dale is old school, and I've been on a sort of old school eating kick these days too. Like after a recent session I was hungry for good, old school fried chicken, which brought to mind Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. Roscoe's is totally old-school. The menu has stayed pretty much the same, as has the restaurant itself, at least the one on Gower. They stick with what works, really good fried chicken and really good waffles. But I also love all the sides at Roscoe's. Here was lunch:

It's the three-wing combo, with greens, but instead of corn bread I got the Mac and Cheese. It was all, as usual, delicious, the wings crisp on the outside, moist within, the mac and cheese super creamy, and the greens long-simmered until ultra tender. When you do something long enough -- like Dale or like Roscoe's, you usually get it right.

So read about Dale in Surfer Magazine:

www.surfermag.com

And if you want to hit up Roscoe's:

www.roscoeschickenandwaffles.com

Tips From An Old-School Dude. Plus Old School Breakfast At The Pantry.

Surfing often brings you in contact with interesting and colorful people. This past Sunday, for example, waves were pretty small and mellow, so it was a great day for me to paddle out. I thought I was doing pretty good, even though it was really crowded, which is never too much fun, and which I often find distracting, if not dangerous. Nearby was a real old-school surfer. How could I tell this? Well, for one, he was on a battered, and well-used old long-board. Also he wore just shorts, no rash guard or wetsuit or anything like that -- probably not even sun screen. He was maybe late-50's…possibly older, although quite frankly he had the body of a twenty year old, which is what surfing a lot will do for you. Between waves, he'd kick back and relax on his board like he was sitting on a beach chair. I saw him take off on a couple of waves, and I was just amazed. This was one of those people who make it all look completely effortless. Anyway, just after I went after one wave and failed he asked if he might make a couple of suggestions. I was cool with that, but the first thing he told me is something I already know -- I still have a tendency to pop up before I've completely caught the wave. What happens then is I get to my feet, but then basically stop and fall off as the wave passes. So he said, "one more paddle, man, and you'd have it." I thanked him, of course, but it was a little later that he had some even more colorful words, ones that also rang true while also being pretty funny. Now first I have to explain: I have tendency to take my time between waves. There's a couple of reasons. One is I think for a person like me, still battling some silly phobias, the adrenalin pumps -- so I get tired and think I need to rest, even though I'm not sure that's really true. Another reason is I'm super picky about selecting waves. It has to look just right for me to go after it -- not too big, not to small, not too steep, etc! This means I spend a lot of time watching waves. This dude totally called me on it, though. He said something close to this: "surfing is like when you were in high school with girls. You can go after one girl, yeah, but it's better to go after ten or fifteen or more because you learn something from each one, and you can figure out what works!" Then he added this: "or guys. Whatever you were into." His point, though, was a valid one. You have to go after as many waves as you can in order to learn, so next time I promised myself I'd do just that.

This session made me hungry for some old school eats, like a good old diner or coffee shop breakfast, which made me think of The Pantry downtown.  Open pretty much 24/7 since 1924, the Pantry, now owned by former Mayor Richard Riordan, is like stepping into a time warp, or an LA Noir movie from the 1940's. There's a colorful cast of characters scattered throughout, and forget about modern day amenities like credit or debit cards or, God forbid, Apple Pay! The Pantry only accepts cash and you pay at a cashier's booth that hasn't been updated probably since the place opened. But this is all what's so great and endearing about The Pantry, its steadfast refusal to change. Also fun is watching the guys behind the counter making the food. They are total pros who make juggling about twelve orders at once look like a piece of cake. Usually you can count on a line out the door of patrons waiting for old-style eats like steaks and chops, but many go to the Pantry for the generous breakfasts, especially for the pancakes. I opted for what you see here:

Yep, eggs over-easy, with crisp bacon, sourdough toast, and hash browns which are so, so good, perfectly crisp on the outside, but tender when you dig down beneath the crust. This place totally hits the spot when you're in the mood for a classic diner breakfast.

So the next time you find looking for some old school eats, hit up the Pantry. And, hey, you might even get lucky and spot one of these like I did outside the place.

Definitely helps make you think you've stepped into another era (by the way there's a lot across the street -- The Pantry validates so you get parking for two and a half bucks).

More info here: www.pantrycafe.com