Santa Monica Pizza – Paris, France

santa monica sign

At the web site listed below you will find the information to the first sign I saw upon exiting the Métro at Place des Fêtes . Having left Santa Monica, CA 15 hours earlier you can imagine the surprise this sign caught me by. I laughed and knew I must go check it out.

After traveling for 15 hours I was ready to drop my bags off, eat and wander around Paris. The Santa Monica pizzeria was closed so I didn’t get to eat there until the second night of my stay and found Ismail and the staff to be friendly and hospitable. I went back as much as I could while in Paris. Merci Santa Monica Grill.

check them out at-

www.lafourchette.com/restaurant/santa-monica/22029

      or if in Paris –  15 Rue Henri Ribiere   75019 Paris

santa monica france
3 amigos pizza

RAVENSWOOD California Cabernet Sauvignon

ravens wood

Going to a party and can’t decide how much to spend and not trying to buy some junk wine that was a waste of money? Nobody wants to hear the voice of ridicule as party goers make their statements regarding your choice of wine. Well there is a wine to add to the buy list that won’t get you ridiculed. It’s reasonably priced and decent tasting. The Ravenswood line of wines are alright. Try some.

MALBEC Review – Espuela del Gaucho Reserve 2012

peter pearce photo
peter pearce photo

This tasty limited edition Malbec was also grown and bottled in the Mendoza region of Argentina and is imported by WX Imports, Novato, CA

Do Not Confuse with the 2011 which wasn’t good.

          www.espueladelgaucho.com

This is another fine Malbec that is now on my Top 5 Malbec list. Not as good as my favorite, Bodega de ELENA, but gets close. This winning wine is a 2012, so maybe could use a year to age, but is a very good selection.

The Espuela del Gaucho has unique, slow running, heavy legs. It carries a lighter body, that lands gently on the tongue, joyfully leaving hints of mixed berries grown in the fresh Andes air and then drifts away.

This is another quality Malbec from Argentina, that any California cab or Merlot drinker will enjoy for under $12.

Celebrity Kitchen LA – Gwyneth Paltrow & Chris Martin

Celebrity Kitchen 3

Imagine that table filled with platters of various appetizers, while us guests sip sangria served up by kitchen mermaid Rachael Ray and enjoy the smells of BBQing meats by another of my favorite grillers wafting in from outside through the open french doors to the patio.

In the meantime, the musical entertainment plays and we wait for the Dude of Food to throw the fresh coconut crusted cod in the pans heating up on the grill of this kitchen in the home of some fabulous people for all to enjoy

Champion Breakfast Sandwich

good start

Roast Beef with Tomato, Egg and Cheese is tasty.

  • Toast some bread or a bagel in the toaster.
  • While it’s toasting heat up a pan for some sliced roast beef.
  • When the toast pops, spread mayo on the bread and add some sliced cheese on one side and some sliced tomato on the other.
  • When the pan gets warmed up, put some sliced roast beef in it and heat it for a minute then flip it and heat the other side for a minute.
  • When the roast beef is warmed up stack it on top of the cheese that’s on the bread.
  • Then while the pan is still hot cook a scrambled egg in it and put the egg on the sandwich too.

This is a delicious and easy way to get a good start to your day.

Dude of Food Port Wine Recommendation

The Dude of Food obtained a bottle of 10 year old tawny port from Trader Joe’s. The producer is Quarles Harris, established 1680, in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal. This beauty of a port wine was roughly $12. but tastes like a fine, costly bottle. This port boasts a light and fruity, but not too sweet, flavor that follows through nicely.

porto

This quality porto is a great after dinner sipper and goes great with chocolate. Let out your inner man and WOW your lady tonight with this fine selection after making her dinner.

Homemade Tomato Soup is good.

tomatoe soup

Delicious winter favorite.

I found that creating this recipe and making this dish really made me feel like a kitchen artist.

In the summertime some friends and I had some ambitious plans to make an urban garden and planted some tomato plants. We thought we had green thumbs as the plants yielded an abundant supply of lovely red ornaments. We had so much harvest that we began to put tomatoes into plastic bags and freeze them. When winter came I pulled the bags of tomatoes out of the freezer and let them thaw so I could work some kitchen magic.

After the smoke cleared there was a delicious brew of home made tomato soup. This was the kind of thick and zesty home made tomato soup that warms your bones after a good winter surf and leaves you with that cozy love feeling.

Serve with crackers.

Thank you faithful eaters and readers. Since it is that time of year when all of the urban gardens around town are exploding with tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, corn, broccoli, squash and more it is time to explore this fun and delicious recipe among others.

Using fresh grown produce is satisfying and makes the gardening experience come full circle. The flavors are robust and the freshness is unbeatable even by your local farmers market. Also the nutrition factor is at a premium when your food is vine ripened at home. (My home grown white potatoes have great flavor.)

TIP: A cool thing I learned about the tomato soup was freezing the tomatoes and then peeling them easily as they thawed. Great time saving trick.

I’m a bit of a story teller, as I have had some great experiences, but as i sit in the kitchen with my beer in one hand and a wooden spoon in the other while telling stories of fighting off spiders and pulling weeds with 3 inch roots with just my left hand while the aroma of cooking goodness permeates the kitchen, I feel the joy Shakespeare must have experienced.

Live long and prosper.

Dude out.

Marinated Fish for Grilling

marinated fish

SIMPLY AWESOME TASTING !”

Halibut, Chilean sea bass or shrimp work well. In this photo you see thick fresh halibut fillets and fresh sea bass fillets after having been soaked overnight in a delicious marinade I found at a local Santa Monica market.

The marinade is an island blend sauce that was perfect. I then topped the mix with a pineapple ring, covered and let sit in the fridge. The ingredients pictured in the pan were thrown on a grill for a few minutes on the patio of a local architectural firm for a ‘Friday Fun Lunch’ organized by a cool office manager. The fish was served with potato salad, grilled shrimp, grilled salmon with a rosemary lemon sauce and a side of mixed fruit chutney and it was simply delicious.

Buddhist Delight Stir Fry

stir fry

Easy, quick and delicious.

Take bok choy, grape tomatoes, broccoli, green or white onion and other desired veggies from the fridge, wash and dice to desired size. Crushed peanuts or shaved carrots would go well in this dish.

Warm some olive oil in a pan on medium heat. You can add soy or teriyaki sauce later.

If adding chicken, add to the oil first and let cook up a bit. If adding shrimp they can wait.

Add veggies with a couple tablespoons of water and cover, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking and promote even heating. Add soy or whatever sauce you like with any dry spices about 6 minutes in after the veggies have had a chance to soften up a bit in the simmer. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes depending on heat level.

When it looks ready to eat, scoop a heap on a plate over some warm rice and serve. For a lovely extra flavor, stir in drained pineapple chunks to the pan about 5 minutes before removing from heat.

Be thankful. Eat. Enjoy and be happy. Be thankful some more.

Plantain Dessert

Rum plantain glazed dessert.
Rum plantain glazed dessert.

Yum, I visualized this dessert and made it happen.

Scoop out a pineapple and put it in freezer for 2 – 3 hours. Chop, slice and dice pineapple insides, your favorite berries and melons and put in the fridge.

Pan heat some molasses, smokey rum and touch of pineapple juice with some sliced plantains. When the plantains look like they are getting soft, pull the pineapple from the freezer and half fill it with vanilla ice cream. Install refrigerated pineapple chunks, berries and melon on top of the ice cream.

Time it so when you stuff the pineapple with ice cream, the plantains are fully heated and soft. Pour the heated plantains over the top of the chopped fruit and ice cream you just stuffed into the pineapple and get ready to watch some TV. You can even top with your favorite chocolate sauce and crushed nuts and it wouldn’t be a problem. The cherry on top is also your choice.