Yea!!

So if you see me around the OC, honk!!

I recently came across a new blog aggregator (a site that centralizes blog posts from multiple sites into one site, think of it as a kind of index…) called FoodBlogs.com. They currently have several hundred food blogs from around the world and its a great centralized place to view content from hundreds of food blogs. What a great way to drive traffic to my site right? FoodBlogs.com is not unique in that there are several other food blog aggregators like FoodBuzz.com, the FoodBlogLog.com, FoodieBlogRoll.com and others. FoodieInDisguise is a member of the last three mentioned aggregators. With the thousands of sites that talk about food it’s nice to have a place(s) where you can search and skim through thousands of posts to find what you want.

There is such diversity in all the types of food blogs that are out there. Some blogs focus mainly on just recipes, while others only talk about food products. Others still might only talk about where the best deals are on the ingredients for your next meal or only feature appliances and gadgets to use in your kitchen. This blog, as you well know, covers probably all of those topics and more.

I tried to sign up so that my blog listings would be aggregated on FoodBlogs.com but was rejected since my blog doesn’t contain 80% recipes. You wouldn’t know it from their main page or most pages on their site that they only cater to recipe sites – not just food blogs. It’s unfortunate, I think they have a good thing going over there.

Anyway…if you are looking for a good recipe aggregator try out FoodBlogs.com. The site is clean and very well organized. The search feature is fast and they give you the ability to have favorites as well as sorting my title, number of posts and when the last blog entry was for a blog. They also have a “hide feed” function. I assume that is so that you never see listings from a particular blog. Interesting.

In addition to a recipe aggregator you can also try out some recipe websites like Food.com, Epicurious.com or AllRecipes.com – all great sources for great recipes through and through.

FoodBlogs.com is owned by JazzMedia LLC, and is a sister site to FashionBlogs.com and MommyBlogs.com

Here is an except from a section of that article called Paperless Future:

If media diversification and proliferation continue apace, marketers can expect feature ads as we know them to disappear over the next five years. Coupons will go paperless and coupon delivery will occur in-store and in-aisle—literally at the point of purchase. Shoppers will deploy mobile devices to seek out and “pull down” messages ranging from recipes to promotions as they shop the store.

Consumers hungry for recipe ideas or product recommendations can text or “tweet” friends, and visit “foodie” social media sites and blogs for inspiration as they walk store aisles. Traditional ad formats will yield to the immediacy and brevity of vehicles like Twitter tweets, which enjoy the boost of enhanced credibility from peer group product champions.

Do you Twitter while you shop? Have you ever Twittered or IM’d a friend for a recipe idea while walking down the aisles of Ralph’s? Me personally, I think I have twittered that I was in the store, but the most I have ever said is that I saw a cute guy in line or something! I usually have a good idea of what I’m buying once I’m at the market. I have also used CellFire, a digital coupon application on the iPhone.

By the way, the cute iPhone cupcakes are from an entry at last year’s Ignite NYC II event.  Nick and Danielle Bilton won The Cupcake Decorating Championship at that event.

Photo Credit: woohome.com

I was intrigued at the idea of a Filipino restaurant located in a food court. Was Pam getting alot of foot traffic sales or was the bulk of her money coming from her catering side? I figured she was preparing all her catered foods in the same kitchen. Pam’s Best opened about two weeks ago. She is occupying the space that used to be a Sushi place. Now let me start by saying that I love Filipino food. One of the problems is that it doesn’t present very well and Filipino food isn’t pretty food. Just by looking at the choices of the day, unless you ask what it is, you may not be able to tell what it is just by looking at it.

As with most food court places, Pam’s offered a combo deal, rice + entrees. The pricing is reasonable and the portions are pretty good. On this day they had a selection of some familar dishes:

Talakitok Sinigang (Fish in Tamarind Soup)
Beef Affritada (Stewed beef and potatoes)
BBQ Pork Skewers
Pinakbet (Vegetable Stew)
Shrimp and Mussel Ginataan Shrimp and Mussels in Coconut Broth
Pancit
Garlic Fried Rice
Crispy Pata

Unfortunately there was no lumpia, lechon (my favorite), adobo or Kare Kare today. My friend Tim came with and between us we had the Sinigang, Beef Afritada, BBQ Pork Skewers, the Pinakbet (with lots of Boogoong), steamed white rice, Pancit and the Shrimp and Mussels.

Everything was good. The pinakbet was my least favorite only because of a textural thing. The magic of pinakbet is when the vegetables get really soft in the broth. Just not my thing, but it tastes great! :) Even Tim enjoyed the Boogoong (salty shrimp paste). The pork skewers invoked memories of numerous Filipino potlucks in the park growing up as a kid. The sinigang was a whole fish of Talakitok. Talakitok is Trevally or Jack fish. It has a firm, white flesh. I used to luv when my mom would make sinigang (a broth made with tamarind) and just have that with freshly made rice. the pancit was good, I could have had several bowls of that alone. Some kalamansi (lime) juice with the pancit would have made it perfect! In addition to the food, they also had some desserts listed on the menu. I almost got some halo-halo, but it was time to get back to the office. Halo-halo is a shaved ice desert usually served with red beans, ube (taro root), macapuno strings (coconut), evaporated milk and sugar.

Several of my coworkers are Filipino and we have scheduled an outing to Pam’s Best in the Mall. Filipino restaurants are hard to find in Orange County. For those lucky enough to live near Cerritos, you have more choices up there. I hope that Pam continues to grow and can’t wait to try some of their other foods. Pam’s had a very steady stream of Filipino customers the entire time we at our lunch. More American’s should be adventurous and try something new, but this goes back to how Filipino food doesn’t present well – so don’t judge a book by it’s cover! :)

If there was one con today it was that they don’t take credit or debit cards, only cash. So when you go, make sure to pick up some cash beore you get to Pams.

Pinoy Pam’s Best
24155 Laguna Hills Mall, Suite # 2360
Food Court on the 2nd level
Laguna Hills, CA 92653

Unfortunately, I can’t take leave from my day job (the geek part of me) to do the interview with a few other foodies. It’s really too bad…

The closest I ever got to meeting Wolfgang Puck in person was when I interviewed for a job with Chef Lee Hefter and Wolfgang’s brother Klaus Puck back in 2001 at the Kodak Center. I was still in my culinary program and was encouraged to interview by my, then mentor, Chef Carol Cotner Thompson.

It was a wonderful opportunity for me. I was nervous as hell and I knew it showed during my interview. I didn’t get the job. It’s ok, I wasn’t ready for it…then. :)

Maybe another opportunity will come up for me to meet Mr. Puck in person. In the meantime, I hope the foodies that are able to go have some interesting questions to ask of Wolfgang Puck!

I was told that my order (placed April 10) would ship a few days ahead of Launch day so that we might participate in Launch Day activities by photographing and video taping our experience with LeWhif.

Well, LeWhif sent me an email today (not a few days ago, today – World Launch Day) saying my order is delayed due to demands on manufacturing. That’s really too bad. Hope your Launch Day was a success.

As soon as our order arrives, we’ll make sure to let you know how this chocolate wonder is with our taste testers standing by.

That’s right, currently an exclusive with ThinkGeek.com you can have your very own Starfleet issued Spork to use on the Enterprise’s Mess Hall.

Made from pure Titanium, this special edition Spork has the Starfleet emblem engraved on it. Only 1701 of these were made. The special edition Spork is probably sold out as of this posting, but the manufacturers are releasing a non-serialized version very soon.

Get yours just in time for the new Star Trek Movie on May 8.

In case you were wondering, the Spork has actually been around for quite some time now – since the late 1800’s. Records show patent requests for a “spoon” and “fork” combination in the 1870’s. Over the years the Spork has been made out of stainless steel, silver, aluminum, titanium, and polycarbonate plastic.

Mostly you will find Sporks at restaurants and institutional houses.My first spork experience was when I was a child and had my first Kentucky Fried Chicken. Back then you also got a moist towelette to go with your spork and napkin.

It’s nice to know that the Spork will live thru to at least the 23rd Century!

So I have a new game, it’s called Where’s Sur La Table. It’s my guessing game as to where in South Coast Plaza the new Sur La Table will go.

According to sources at Sur La Table locations at Newport and Irvine, the store will be in South Coast Plaza West or what once was called the Crystal Court.

So I went to SCPW in hunt of clues to its placement. As a former employee of Sur La Table, I wanted to see if I could determine where they might place themselves.

So here are my clues. Currently there are five empty locations that are boarded up:

The first spot is on the first level and it is the old Fossil location. It is a corner spot right in the center court of the mall. Great location, but I think the actual square footage of the store is a bit small. Fossil recently left this space and they have already put up paper to block a view into the store. They left a window open in the back and based on what I saw, it’s definitely too small.

Spot two is also on the first floor and directly across from the Apple Store. This store has adequate square footage. It is currently being used for an event the mall is hosting so will be empty once again when the event closes. From initial observations, it seems big enough for an SLT. I’m concerned that there is no backroom as the space did go a bit back. However the space that could be seen is all finished retail space. There was a door leading to a back area, so it is possible there is storage space back there. Being right across from the Apple Store would be very advantageous. Disadvantages is that it is steps from Crate and Barrel.

Spot three is on the second floor from directly above the old corner spot for Fossil. It has more square footage that the store below it, however its placement makes me question it’s viability. It is right next door to to a Villeroy & Boch a lifestyle store centering around kitchen and bath. While SLT’s product line isn’t exclusively tableware, they do intersect. Another store that could affect sales is Michael Chiarello’s Napa Style. However there are other stores on the floor that complement SLT’s demographics: Chico, Talbots and Coldwater Creek.

Spot four is on the third floor, but it is unclear if this is one space or two since the coverings over the space is one single piece. It is too close to Macy’s Home Store and the demographics are off with H&M across the way. Based on the depth of the stores to the left and right of it, this space could be too big. However if they needed bigger warehouse space in the back, it could work.

I didn’t snap a shot of the fifth spot. Spot five is back on the 1st floor also close to the Macy’s Home Store but too close for comfort being that the first floor is housewares for Macy’s. Even if it was, it is way to small as it seems to be a galley type setup with a narrow opening.

So where do you think it will be? I’m hoping for the spot across from the Apple Store. Yes having Crate & Barrel right down the way might affect sales, but Sur La Table has enough of a product mix that they could do very well. So let’s see what they do. It is entirely possible that another store is planning an exit and SLT is lined right up behind them to take over their space.

When I first saw this on the net I kept scratching my head. Do I really need a bundt mold that has varying heights and slice marks to determine how big a piece to give to someone? The entire marketing pitch is about the delimna of how big a slice to give Uncle Bob versus how small a slice for Aunt Margaret.

Come on really.

If my guests want a smaller slice, then cut a smaller slice! If I want a gigantor piece (I have been known to devour whole sections of any cake) I’ll just slice the extraneous smaller pieces away and save the large piece for me. Haha. No seriously.

The whole varying height thing bothers me even more. I keep asking myself WHY? It’s all about volume – just change where you place the knife!

Sure from a novelty point it might look interesting on a table and it becomes a curiosity piece at parties. But I don’t get it.

I don’t need to spend $32 to determine how big a slice I need to cut for my guests. Maybe you do?

Photo credits: Charles & Marie

Dear Scott,

We would like to thank you for your recent Le Whif order.

Le Whif becomes available to the public for the first time on April 29th. As one of our first customers, we would like you to be enjoying your Whif as soon as possible. For this reason we have decided to send to you this first order several days before it goes on sale in Paris. We will email you again when your order ships, within the next two weeks.

What we would like to ask in return, is that, when you whiff for the very first time, you film yourself – or simply take a picture. We will create a way for you to upload your film or photo onto our website, www.lewhif.com, and hope to share to the world how the world whiffs, or at least how the world whiffed on the very first day of whiffing. This is all voluntary of course. But it would be a great way for us to put a name to a smiling face.

Finally, below you’ll find a list of answers to questions that have been appearing on blogs and in newspapers around the world. We hope this will be helpful.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Yours sincerely,

Tom Hadfield
LaboGroup
www.lewhif.com

The extraordinary international reaction to the idea of Le Whif, which we will be selling from April 29, has led to several misconceptions about what it exactly means to whiff, in the sense of breathing chocolate into your mouth using Le Whif.  Here are some questions we see frequently in the media and on blogs around the world:

Do you whiff through the nose?
No, not with Le Whif. Whiffing, with Le Whif, means to place Le Whif between your lips and inhale, through your mouth.  Fine chocolate powder leaves Le Whif, enters your mouth, and remains there.

Does chocolate enter your lungs?
No.  Inhaled particles larger than about 10 microns in diameter fall out of the air before entering the lungs.  Gravity and inertial impaction make these particles fall out of the air and land in your mouth and throat.  The particles of chocolate in Le Whif are much larger than 10 microns in size, so they cannot enter your lungs.  Further, the design of Le Whif is such that, when you breathe, particles are directed from the inhaler to the sides of your mouth, and not to the back of your throat.  This assures that, not only do particles remain in your mouth, they land where you taste them best.

How can there be no calories if there is chocolate in your mouth?
The total mass of chocolate powder in Le Whif is about 200 milligrams.  This amounts to less than 1 calorie of chocolate.

How do we practically consume chocolate in Le Whif?
A single puff from Le Whif normally puts about 50 milligrams of chocolate in your mouth.  This means that from a single Whif, you can enjoy up to four puffs of chocolate.  Between puffs you can close Le Whif and put it in your pocket, pulling it out again minutes, or hours, later.  The chocolate remains contained and protected in Le Whif between uses.

Is there any special caution to using Le Whif?
Yes, when you open Le Whif, by pulling the two ends horizontally, make sure to keep it horizontal.  Open, whiff, and close, while keeping Le Whif horizontal relative to the ground. We show this movement on the packaging – because if you open Le Whif and hold in vertically, powder will fall out.

When I was a kid we only had solid color eggs. I wanted in on this action.

Happy Easter Sade, ToniLyn and Jessica!

“Over the centuries we’ve been eating smaller and smaller quantities at shorter and shorter intervals.  It seemed to us that eating was tending toward breathing, so, with a mix of culinary art and aerosol science, we’ve helped move eating habits to their logical conclusion. We call it whiffing.”

This says Harvard Professor, David Edwards, lead inventor of a new sensory sensation, Le Whif. Le Whif is a new way to “eat” chocolate. In addition to being breathably cool, this is chocolate with ZERO calories!

Le Whif is about the size of a short cigar and looks like an asthma inhaler. You extend the color cap (each cap represents the added flavor like mango, raspberry or mint) that will mix with the chocolate air. Once extended, you breath in the other end of the tube much like a cigarette or cigar. On your first inhale you are hit with cocoa bliss!

I haven’t tried one of these in person, yet. I have my order in and as soon as I get them, they will be tested and you’ll read about it here first.

Le Whif will make its world debut in Paris on April 29. From there it will make it to the States at the All Candy Expo in Chicago from May 19th to the 21st.

David Edwards

Le Whif has an interesting beginning. In the spring of 2008, Edwards along with some of his students did some experients at Le Laboratoire in France. It was there this innovative device came to life. Along with Theirry Marx, they are excited for thier debut and working hard to come up with new flavors.

You can pre-purchase your Le Whif by visiting their website at http://www.lewhif.com

The clip shows Stan and the Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker 2000 – an actual appliance with 700 Watts of power to shave ice and blend drinks!

Follow FoodieInDisguise on Twitter: www.twitter.com/disguisedfoodie

I will be covering new product announcements, covering all the live cooking demos from celebrity chefs like Tyler Florence, Gale Gand, Rick Bayless, Tre Wilcox and Stephanie Izard from Top Chef and much, much more!

Come to this blog for photo’s and videos straight from the show floor and the GOHO Cooking Theater ! I’ll be at the Opening Keynote hosted by Tyler Florence at 7:30am!

If you live in Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Newport or UC Irvine you’re in luck! Don’t get in your car and try to find a 24 hour CVS or Ralphs. Call Midnight Muncheez!

Midnight Muncheez will deliver everything from chips, drinks and food to Nag Champa, Condoms and Ping Pong balls! It’s an interesting collection to say the least. In the next few months they will be expanding by adding a kitchen and delivering freshly made pizzas and sandwiches.

Midnight Muncheez was founded by Jeff Bordok and Jared Jones in 2007. Their mission:

“Our mission is to provide a food delivery service while helping to educate young adults about the risks of drunk driving.”

I question their recent addition of liquor to their menu however. While their charter is to prevent drunk driving why should they promote the very thing that caused their mission to be formed in the first place?

In any case, this is a great service for anyone, not just young adults. A quick run thru their menus shows that in addition to a wide array of food and drink they can sell you everything from Nyquil, condoms, toothpaste, red plastic cups, batteries to a deck of cards.

So if you find yourself in need cuz you’ve had a bit too much to drink or cuz you can’t drive, give Midnight Muncheez a call! They deliver from 8pm to 3am Sun-Thu and 8pm to 5am on Fri and Sat.

Midnight Muncheez
(877) EZ-MUNCH
(877) 396-8624
www.midnightmuncheez.com

First Course
Seafood Stew paired with Duckhorn Vineyards, 2007 Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley

Second Course
A Brace of American Birds (Pheasant and Duck) with Sour Cherry Chutney and Molasses Sweet Potatoes paired with Goldeneye, 2005 Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley

Third Course
Apple Cinnamon Sponge Cake and Sweet Cream Glacé paired with Korbel Natural “Special Inaugural Cuvée” California Champagne

A copy of the recipes can also be found on the Inauguration Website in PDF format.

Seafood Stew
Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients

6 (1 Lb) Maine lobsters
20 medium size Sea scallops
36 Large shrimp, peel, cleaned and tail removed, aprox. 2 lbs.
10 (1 oz) pieces of black cod
1/2 cup small dice carrots
1/2 cup small dice celery
1/2 cup small dice leek
1/2 cup small dice Idaho potato
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper or black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 quart heavy cream
1 cup dry vermouth (can be made without)
10 (5 inch) puff pastry rounds

Equipment

10 (3.5 inch) terrines/ramekins or serving dish of your choice

Directions

1. Bring 1 gallon of water to a boil; poach lobsters, then shrimp, then black cod and last scallops. After seafood is cooked, remove from water; reserve water and bring to boil.

2. Cook all vegetables in liquid that was used for the seafood, remove vegetables when tender. Allow the liquid to continue to boil until only 1qt of liquid remains. This will be the base for the sauce.

3. Bring seafood liquid back to a boil and add the vermouth and heavy cream and reduce by half, season with salt, white pepper and nutmeg to taste. You have reached your desired thickness when the sauce will cover the back of a wooden spoon. Set aside to cool.

4. Cut Maine lobster, shrimp and scallops into bite size pieces.

5. Pre-heat oven at 400 degrees.

6. Fold seafood and vegetables into cool sauce, being careful not to mix too much as this will break up the seafood. Scoop mixture into terrines or oven proof baking dish of your choice.

7. Cover terrines with puff pastry rounds, brush them with egg wash and bake them until golden brown about 8-10 minutes, allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. You can cook this 2-3 hours ahead of time and keep warm at 150 F degrees.

*All seafood can be substituted with other favorite options of your choice and availability.

Duck Breast with Cherry Chutney
Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 small)
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Scant 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper (1/2 medium)
1 plum tomato, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup dry red wine
1.5 to 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 can (3 cups) Bing cherries, quartered *Oregon brand
1/2 cup Golden Raisins
10 (6 oz.) boneless duck breasts with skin
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon or chives

Method for chutney and glaze

Heat oil in a 2 to 3 quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook onion, garlic, and shallot, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 7 minutes. Add tomato paste, black pepper, cumin, hot pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Reduce heat to medium and add bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in wine, vinegar (to taste), and sugar and simmer approx 5 minutes. Stir in mustard, 1 1/2 cups cherries, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer 1 minute. Allow to cool slightly and reserve all but 1/4 cup of the mix to the side. Place 1/4 cup mix in a blender and puree until very smooth, about 1 minute (use caution when blending hot liquids). Reserve for glazing duck. To finish the chutney, add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of cherries, tarragon, chives and all the golden raisins. Can be prepared one day ahead.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. Score duck skin in a crosshatch pattern with a small sharp knife and season duck all over with salt and pepper.

Heat water in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over low heat until hot, then add duck, skin side down. Cook duck, uncovered, over low heat, without turning, until most of fat is rendered(melted) and skin is golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Transfer duck to a plate and discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet. Brush duck all over with cherry glaze and return to skillet, skin side up.

Roast duck in oven until thermometer registers 135°F, about 8 minutes for medium-rare. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Holding a sharp knife at a 45-degree angle, cut duck into slices. Serve with cherry chutney and molasses whipped sweet potato.

Herb Roasted Pheasant with Wild Rice Stuffing
Yield: 10 portions

Ingredients

10 Pheasant breast, boneless, remove tenders and reserve for stuffing, cut small pocket in side of breast for stuffing
1/2 cup Olive oil with chopped rosemary, thyme and sage
1 lb. Wild rice, long grain
2 quarts Chicken stock or canned chicken broth
2 Carrots, diced
1/2 Onion, diced
1/2 cup Dried apricot, small diced
1 Tablespoon Salt and pepper mix
2 Tablespoons Garlic, roasted

Directions

1. Boil the rice with the chicken stock, cook until soft and most of the liquid is gone.

2. Add the onion, carrot, garlic and apricot. Cook until the vegetables are soft and all liquid has been absorbed. Refrigerate rice mixture until cold.

3. In a food processor, puree pheasant tenders to a paste consistency to use as a binder for rice mix.

4. When rice is cool, add the pheasant puree to the rice until well mixed. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and return to refrigerator until ready to stuff.

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

6. Make 10 small football shaped patties of the rice mix, stuff inside the pheasant, being careful not to overstuff the pheasant. Rub herb/oil mixture on top and bottom of the pheasant, season with salt and pepper. Place the pheasant on a heavy gauge roasting pan and then in a preheated oven for approximately 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with lid or foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Serve over sauté of spinach.

*Pheasant can be substituted with chicken.

Molasses Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Yield: 2 quarts

Ingredients

3 large sweet potatoes, about 3 pounds
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of molasses
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and roast until easily pierced with a fork, about 1 hour.

3. Peel the skin off of the sweet potatoes while still hot.By hand or mixer, smash potatoes until all large chunks are gone. Combine the potatoes, butter, salt, orange juice, brown sugar, ground cumin, molasses and maple syrup in a large bowl. Continue to mix all together until all lumps are gone. Adjust any of the seasonings to your specific tastes. Can be made the day before.

Winter Vegetables
Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients

2 bunches Asparagus, green, bottom 1/3 of stem removed
2 lbs. Carrots, peeled, cut oblong or large dice
1 lb. Baby Brussel Sprouts, fresh,cleaned or frozen can be used
1 lb. Wax Beans, ends snipped
2 oz Butter
1 each Zest from orange
4 oz. Olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Directions

Asparagus: preheat grill or large heavy bottom sauté pan. Rub 2 oz of olive oil on asparagus and season with pinch of salt and pepper. Lay flat on grill or sauté pan until lightly browned. Using long fork or tongs, rotate the asparagus to brown other sides. Usually 2 or 3 minutes per side. The asparagus is done when you can use a fork to cut through. Do not overcook, this will cause asparagus to become stringy. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Carrots: bring 3 qt salted water to a boil, add carrots to water and cook until fork tender, meaning a fork will easily pass through the carrot. Drain the water from the pot and toss 1 oz butter and zest of orange and mix until carrots are coated. Season with pinch of salt and enjoy. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Brussel Sprouts: For Fresh: Bring 3 qt salted water to a boil, cut into the stem of the sprout with a pairing knife to create an X on the bottom, this will allow the stem to cook more evenly. Place sprout in boiling water and allow to cook until bottom of sprout is tender and easily cut with a knife. Preheat a heavy bottom sauté while the sprouts are cooking. Remove sprouts from water and allow all water to drain completely. Add 2 oz oil to sauté pan and add the sprouts, season with salt and pepper while tossing the sprouts around to evenly brown in the pan. If sprouts are too big, you can cut them in half, keep warm until ready to serve.

For Frozen: Bring 3 qt salted water to a boil and drop frozen brussel sprouts into water, these are precooked so you are only thawing them out. Remove from water and sauté as above.

Yellow Wax beans: bring 3 qt salted water to boil, add snipped wax beans to water and allow to cook until fork tender or to your liking of doneness. Remove from water and toss with 1 oz butter and season with salt and pepper.

Cinnamon Apple Sponge Cake
Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients

Apple Filling

4 lbs Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup water
1/₃ cup granulated sugar
1/₃ cup apple sauce
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
Grated zest from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bread Crust

14 tablespoons unsalted butter, melt 10 of tablespoons
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
34 slices brioche bread (or white bread)

Equipment

10 Ceramic baking ramekins or metal molds (3” diameter)

Sauce

2 cups caramel sauce(store bought)
2 cups granny smith apples, peeled, cored, diced small
Pinch sugar
Pinch cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

Ice Cream

1 quart vanilla ice cream

Preparation

Filling

1. Melt butter in 6-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Add apples and caramelize, add water, cook, stirring occasionally for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are completely soft. Remove cover and add sugar, nutmeg and salt. Increase heat to medium-high and continue to cook, stirring apples frequently, until liquid has completely evaporated, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest, apple sauce and vanilla. Set aside to cool while making crust. The filling can be made one day ahead

Making crust and assembly

1. Position oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 425°F. Grease 8 ceramic dishes with 1 tablespoon butter. Sprinkle sugar in dish and tilt to coat bottom and sides. Tap out excess sugar and set aside.

2. Using a bread knife, remove crusts from bread. Center the bottom of mold over one of the bread squares. Cut around mold to form circle to use as the top. Make a total of 20 of these round pieces. Ten will be for the bottom and 10 will be used for the top. Dip each one in melted butter and place at the bottom of mold.

3. Cut each of the 15 remaining slices of bread into four rectangular pieces. Dip one side of each strip in the melted butter and arrange strips, upright, around the inside of molds, buttered-sides against mold and overlapping by about 1/2” to completely line mold. Use 6 rectangles to line the mold.

4. Spoon the apple filling into bread-lined molds, mounding it slightly in center.

5. Take the remaining ten rounds of bread and dip pieces of bread into the melted butter and place on top of filling, buttered-sides up. Press down lightly.

6. Bake for 30 minutes, then cover top loosely with aluminum foil. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, until top is deep golden brown and side slices are golden brown (slide a thin-bladed knife between bread and pan to check). Remove from oven, uncover, and let rest for 15 minutes on wire rack. Run thin-bladed knife around edges of molds to be able to flip the mold out onto serving plates.

7. For the apple cinnamon caramel sauce, sauté 1 cup of peeled and diced Granny Smith apples in butter, add a pinch of sugar and cinnamon. Allow to cook until apples are lightly browned and all sugars have dissolved. Remove from heat and add 2 cups caramel sauce to the apples and stir to coat apples.

To Assemble

Pour caramel apple sauce over warmed apple cakes and serve with your favorite vanilla ice cream.

Kat Nguyen the former OC Register blogger for restaurants in the OC has left and there has been a vacuum in the OC Register’s Gluttonista blog.

But no longer! Gluttonista has been renamed Food Frenzy and is being headed up by Jeff “Get In My Belly” Overley and Niyaz “I’ve Just Got Big Bones” Pirani. Between the two of them, they are tearing thru the OC food scene! From time to time, you’ll see Ellyn Pak make an appearance as well.

I want a job like that! Oh wait…I do have a job like that!

Let’s see if I can keep up with Jeff and Niyaz on their feeding frenzy!

When I read this story yesterday I could hardly believe it. Three young KFC employees took it upon themselves to dress up in bathing suits and take a dip in the sinks in the kitchen at KFC. They tood videos of their “hot tubbing” and posted them up on MySpace. There was no manager on duty as the three were on the night shift.

The three young women were terminated by KFC. This event comes months after a young man in Ohio also decided to take a dip in the Burger King sink.

What were they thinking?!?!

Four video game titles have been released yesterday and three of them are based on existing TV Chefs/Shows and the fourth is an independent title. I have not tried any of these games, but intend to try each one as best as I can. You see, I’m not much of a gamer and don’t own any game consoles (hint, hint what a nice holiday present that would be). 

First up we have Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen game fashioned after the FOX TV Reality Show. The game is available for PC/Mac, Wii and Nintendo DS. It’s just like the show, you get berated by Gordon while you prep and serve your food for the restaurant.

Next up from Atari we have Jamie Oliver’s What’s Cooking on the Nintendo DS. Jamie walks you thru a cooking simulation with real recipes! 

The folks at Iron Chef America are getting into the action with their game featuring the Iron Chefs, the Chairman and Alton Brown. It is only available for Wii and Nintendo DS. Contestants battle each other with the “secret ingredient”.

The fourth game is called Cooking Mama World Kitchen on Nintendo’s Wii. This game judges kids on their creativity of their virtual dishes.

At this point, the first game I will try is Hell’s Kitchen since it’s available in a format (PC/Mac) that I have. The other three will have to be tested when I can get access to a Wii and/or Nintendo DS.

Do you what it is? Here’s a clue it’s about 5″ long and on the original photo there is a fish engraved on the fork.

Give up? It’s a sardine fork! Cathy emailed me and told me I was last week’s winner and that I won a cookbook. I was so excited. I have been entering my answers into the Cook’s Quiz for almost a year now and I finally won!

The cookbook I won is the New England Clam Shack Cookbook featuring recipes from restaurants all over New England. The book will come in handy when I go and visit the NE hopefully in the Spring!

They didn’t mention my blog in the writeup, but they at least got my tagline in: Computer Geek by Day, Foodie by Night!

Restaurants in 13 Metropolitan areas will be serving fixed menus featuring either a three-course lunch or dinner. Lunches are $24 and dinners are $35. Beverages, tax and gratuity are not included.

Each reservation will earn you 200 points if you are an Open Table member.

Just in the Los Angeles/Orange county area alone there are over 173 participating restaurants. 

Some restautants that I would be interested in trying are: 

• Asia de Cuba – West Hollywood (Lunch and Dinner)
• hush – Laguna Beach (Dinner Only)
• Akasha – Culcer City (Lunch and Dinner)
• Charlie Palmers - Costa Mesa (Lunch Only)
• Ciudad – Los Angeles (Lunch and Dinner)
• Grace – Beverly Hills (Dinner Only)
• Leatherby’s Cafe Rouge – Costa Mesa (Dinner Only)
• 6ix – Irvine (Lunch and Dinner)

So go out there and enjoy some great restaurants!

Yum Brands, parent company for Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut have announced job cuts. At Taco Bell, based here in Irvine, they will be laying off 10% of corporate employees, restaurant employees will not be affected. It’s odd to also report that earlier this week, Taco bell announced they are moving their corporate offices from near John Wayne Airport (SNA) and taking up space in the building that currently houses the Ford Motor Company right off of Alton and the 5 Freeway.

The announcement said they would be moving about 600 employees. They will be occupying space currently held by Jaguar and Land Rover.

Starbucks: One Free Tall Coffee on Nov. 4, all you have to say is that you voted

Krispy Kreme: Free star-shaped doughnut to voters

Pizza Hut: Order a pizza online and get a 20% discount – for new users only

Ben & Jerry’s: One free scoop of ice cream from 5pm to 8pm, for anyone on Nov 4

Daily Grill: Free appetizer to voters.

It is interesting to note that in California, there is an obscure law on the books that prohibit “gifts” to the electorates. violation of the law is 16 months to 3 years in jail.

Question:

Recently a restaurant I have eaten at many times showed up on the weekly OC Register restaurant closure list. They were cited for several violations including improper holding temperatures of food, inadequate cleaning cloth sanitizer levels, unsanitary equipment, and improper thawing procedures. All fixable.

They weren’t closed for those reasons. Their main violation was a cockroach infestation and improper reheating temperatures/practices. So some additional training is given regarding reheating practices, but do you ever fix a cockroach infestation? It has been my opinion, that once you get to a point of “infestation” it’s pretty much a done deal.

Many would argue that every restaurant kitchen has roaches. I say no, that is not the truth. Improper cleaning practices leads to a dirty kitchen; dirty kitchens lead to vermin and roach infestations.

Shows like Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares has revealed some examples of kitchens that are in horrible states. He brings in a team of steam cleaners and professionals to come in and literally scrub down the kitchens before he let’s food out again. 

As for the restaurant in question, I have been in their kitchen and I have to say that I have had to look the other way – and shame on me for doing so. Now that they have shown up on the list, I cannot go back.

The following is a link to the Orange County Food Protection Program part of the Orange County Health Care Agency. 

They are the ones who monitor OC restaurants. Here you can look up any restaurant that has had a violation.

It is interesting to note that Orage County doesn’t have a restaurant rating system like Los Angeles County has. In LA, all restaurants are required to post their current license status prominently. I generally will not eat at “C” rated restaurants in LA County. What if Orange County had a rating system, how many restaurants would come out with an “A” rating?

That’s not all happening around that space. Johnny Rockets will be moving their current location to this front facing site this month as well. This will place them next to Panda Express.

Has the cupcake shop closed up? They are no longer listed on the Spectrum Directory. Sweet Lorraine’s Cupcake Bakery opened last Spring. I had ordered two cupcakes and from what I remember, it wasn’t a “Sprinkles”.  I’ll try to swing by an see what the scoop is on Sweet Lorraine’s.

Another name missing from the directory is The Rustic Vine. Scheduled to open this past summer in the new shops in front of the Edward’s Cinema. It appears that they may have pulled out of their lease. It’s too bad, I was really looking forward to a good meal and wine pairing.