Author Archives: Anne

Restaurant review: Ammo

To celebrate a friend’s birthday, we went to Ammo Cafe a couple of weeks ago. I work near there and had been for lunch a couple of times and basically fell in love with their puy lentil salad w/ beets and goat cheese. I also loved the minimal interior and the fact that there were several healthy options on the menu.

Three of us arrived at 7:00 pm and were seated promptly. Our waitress was very helpful without being too pushy and helped us select a wine from the Euro-centric wine list (we’re more familiar with California wines). We were waiting on one more person but the groaning noises coming out of my tummy were almost deafening so we ordered a couple of appetizers to share. The Grilled Calamari, Shrimp and Scallop Salad with blue lake beans, haricot verts, sungold tomatoes, marinated baby artichokes and preserved lemon was smoky, lemony and just plain scrumptious (uh oh, I am beginning to sound like Giada De Laurentiis with all of my juvenile adjectives). The portion was quite generous so we all had our fair share of each crustacean. We also opted to share the beef carpaccio which was an excellent version drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, lemon and scattered with arugula and shaved parmesan.


When our fourth member arrived, we all placed our orders and nibbled on the crunchy flatbreads which came in the basket, along with olive and French bread. Soon the entrees arrived- my husband’s Wild Bass braised in the wood oven with teardrop tomatoes, baby carrots & potatoes, white wine, fresh herbs was very mild and comforting, although I think he was a bit disappointed that it was, er, braised. I think he just saw “Wild Bass” and assumed that it would be pan seared. My friend ordered the rack of lamb special which was succulent while the other friend ordered Wood Oven Roasted Half Chicken inspired by “Zuni”, on a bed of torn croutons, young mustard greens, currants, pine nuts and scallions which was also delicious, even though it was a tad on the dry side. My magherita pizza was ultra thin, just the way I like it, and not too gooey. The crust was a real winner- chewy and yeasty with great flavor. My only disappointment was that I had asked to substitute burrata for the regular mozzarella (offering to pay more, of course) but the chef turned down my request. I guess I’m not supposed to screw with his art.

Even though we were pretty full (ok, stuffed to the gills is more like it) we were on a carbohydrate high and decided to order dessert. Make that four desserts- one for each. We all dove into my Trio of Ice Cream Sandwiches- the favorites being the lemon sorbet ensconced between two fiery gingersnaps and a praline ice cream matched up with butter cookies. My friend’s sorbets were all delicious, particularly the green apple. Again, my poor husband got the short end of the stick with the well-intentioned warm chocolate pudding. It sounds all gooey and lovely until you remembered that chocolate pudding (not cake, not brownie) is best eaten chilled. The apple tart a la mode was pretty much devoured in record time.

Overall, I must say I quite love Ammo. The service is subtle and efficient and the atmosphere is very modern but peaceful. I was sad to see my beloved puy lentil salad absent from their dinner menu, but I know we will meet again during daylight hours.

PS- I didn’t want to send the other patrons into a seizure with the shock of my extra bright camera flash which basically resulted in these artistic (read: fuzzy and dimly lit) photos.

Ammo
1155 North Highland Ave
Los Angeles,CA
Tel: (323) 871-2666

I don’t think Colin Cowie is sweatin’ me just yet!

A few weeks ago, a coworker asked me if I would cater a small cocktail party he was throwing for his mom’s 60th birthday. “Me?” I thought sheepishly as I tried not to jump up and down in his office. I have to admit, I was thrilled at the prospect and not really nervous about it. I soon typed up a menu for him to select a few appetizers from and was well on my way to planning what I thought would be a fabulous affair.

The five appetizers he chose were all things I had made before. I figured I’d go shopping on Friday night, spend a few hours on Saturday morning prepping 90% of it and then finish it up in an hour or so at my friend’s house. No worries, right? I based my prices on the cost of the ingredients and about 5 hours of labor. At the end of it all, I think I averaged about $2 an hour!!

Steaming the new potatoes, making the smoked salmon creme fraiche, clipping the perfect little sprigs of dill, spearing multiple chicken skewers, toasting the crostini…….what I had imagined would take a few hours ended up taking me all day Saturday and by the time I got to my friend’s house, I was exhausted. The two hours before the guest of honor arrived were spent frantically (at least on the inside) broiling the flank steak and slicing it up into bite-sized pieces, stuffing the mushrooms and dredging the tops in panko, filing the tiny savory tart cups with carmelized onions…..I barely finished before everyone yelled “SURPRISE!” Totally spent, my assistant (aka husband) and I got in the car and drove home.


The “clients” were happy and all in all, it was a great experience. The food all came out well, and I would definitely do it again but probably charge enough so that I am at least clearing minimum wage! I am grateful for the chance I got to actually cater a small party but I learned my lesson- never underestimate the work that goes into it.
Here’s to you, Wolfgang.

Mushrooms and wine……so fine.

When people ask me what my favorite vegetable is, asparagus or broccoli usually pops into my head. After all, they often appear as the Lead Side Dish at many fine restaurants and they taste great without much fuss. However, I had to look deep into myself (and my eating habits) and ask, “What vegetable do I consume almost daily?” The answer to that question is mushrooms and onions. It’s true- the bright green cheerleader (asparagus) and football player (broccoli) lose out to the slightly dirty and sometimes mangled dirt dwellers better known as the mushroom (clearly the chess club president of the veggie world) and it’s good friend, the onion (the janitor, perhaps?). Although they aren’t the most handsome veggie, a day without at least one of them isn’t complete.

Let’s start with the onion. I love green onions, red onions, pearl onions, brown, white, sweet, hot- you get the idea. I eat them raw in salads, stir fried with meat, braised with beef or sprinkled over fish. During some of my poorer times living in Tokyo, I’d eat onion sandwiches. Yup. Thick white bread spread with Kewpie mayonnaise enveloping several thick slices of raw, white onion. Don’t knock it till ya try it. I’m sure one bite of that culinary masterpiece now would whip me back to the days where I sat in my Tokyo “apartment” (a 15 x 20 box with a sink) watching Dotchi No Ryori Show while munching on my sandwich. Ah, good times. To me, onions of any preparation are Good Eats.

Mushrooms, on the other hand, need a little nudge of oil, a sprinkling of seasoning or coaxing of garlic to really bring out their full potential. Raw mushrooms, if thinly sliced, are good in salads but otherwise I’m not the biggest fan. Why eat Mr. Mushroom raw when he can pair up with his perfect mate to make the perfect couple?? Wine is Mushroom’s soul mate. To me, nothing tastes better than any sort of mushroom sautéed in almost any sort of wine (well, the ones I have cooked with, anyway!). Cooking mushrooms in wine even puts me in a good mood WHILE I am cooking. I can’t explain it. Maybe because such little effort is rewarded with such delicious flavor. Maybe the smell of mushrooms in wine drifting through the house acts as some sort of mood enhancer. Whatever it is, whether it’s button mushrooms stewed in with burgundy and beef or criminis sautéed with a splash of vermouth, garlic & thyme, I find myself smiling and doing little dances around the stove.

Last night I had to make dinner in a hurry (not because I was going anywhere but because I was about to keel over from hunger) and I knew the perfect dish. Chicken Marsala w/ Mushrooms. So easy, so delicious and contains lots of mushrooms and onion. One of those recipes where you almost always have all of the ingredients on hand. I’ve made this several times and each time I marvel at how delicious the outcome of so little work can be. Simplicity at it’s best. Served with some egg noodles and veggies, it’s the perfect weeknight dinner.

As the mushrooms and onions simmered in the Marsala wine, the stress of my workday and looming deadlines just absolutely disappeared. It’s in those moments that I find the utter pleasure of cooking and feel overwhelmingly satisfied. It’s completely different than the times I’ve spent hours meticulously creating a four course meal for guests- I love the challenge and the concentration that requires. Sometimes I get carried away, trying to make too many intricate dishes and winding up at dinner time exhausted and irritated with sore feet even though the meal came out great. After those instances I always tell myself that it doesn’t require 50 ingredients to impress guests.

Delicious simplicity is something I need to strive for more often and this dish is the perfect example. And of course, it contains my favorite mushrooms and onions so it’s perfect!

(I adapted this recipe a bit and increased the liquids so that there would be more reduced sauce).

CHICKEN AND MUSHROOM MARSALA
(Adapted from Gourmet June 1995)

3 whole boneless chicken breasts with skin (about 2 1/2 pounds),
halved
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, sliced thin
1 container crimini or white button mushrooms, sliced thin
1 cup Marsala
2 cup low salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley leaves

Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. In a large heavy skillet heat oil and 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown chicken in 2 batches, transferring with tongs to a large plate as browned.
Discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet and sauté onion and mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated. Add Marsala and cook mixture, stirring, until Marsala is almost evaporated. Add broth and chicken with any juices that have accumulated on plate and simmer, turning chicken once, until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Transfer chicken with tongs to a platter.

Simmer mushroom sauce until liquid is reduced to about 1 cup. Remove skillet from heat and stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter and salt and pepper to taste, stirring until butter is just incorporated. Spoon mushroom sauce around chicken and sprinkle with parsley.

Akemashite Omedetou…..Again.


Since my husband and I went out of town for New Year’s Eve, my parents invited us over this past weekend for Osechi Ryori, the traditional Japanese New Year’s meal.

We went over at noon and started with a non-osechi appetizer that was fantastic nonetheless. My mom made a mix of chopped boiled eggs, onions, yogurt and mayonnaise and topped it off with some caviar. Served on top of some buttered toast triangles, it is truly a tantalizing accompaniment to a nice cold glass of champagne.

We sat down at the dining table to an array of lovely and delicious offerings. There were plates filled with salmon sashimi, shime-saba (marinated mackeral- my husband’s favorite, and my mom makes the best!), renkon no kimpira (lotus root sauteed with sweet/spicy soy and sesame oil), green beans with goma (sesame) paste, ika sashimi (raw squid) mixed with tarako (salted cod roe), kuri kinton (sweet anko beans and chestnuts) and my mom’s world famous chawan muschi (savory egg custard conatining shrimp, fish cakes, chicken and ginko nut). Washed down with some cold sake, it was one fabulous lunch.

Cooking lighter…..

After the breads, cookies, prime ribs, lobster bisques, dips, crackers, spreads, wine and countless pieces of chocolate (and more wine) that permeate the holidays, I knew I had to commit to cooking lighter and more healthful fare to kick off the new year. Don’t get me wrong- a lot of our favorite foods are naturally healthy- but after being fed by other people for a couple of weeks during Christams/New Years, I had to get back into the swing of things.

Since I don’t usually get home before 6:30 PM, I stuck with simple things. I started documenting our weeknight dinners and I think we are both feeling a bit lighter and more energized. Of course a weekend dinner at a new French bistro in our neighborhood kind of sabotaged a week of the healthy dinners (the frites were absolutely PERFECT) but today is another day.
Sweet potato hash w/ egg + salad
I just boiled one cubed sweet potato and sauteed it with chopped bell peppers, onions, green onions, chopped turkey sausage and BBQ sauce (and lots of white pepper for spice). I like the “breakfast for dinner” idea sometimes. Scrambled egg and a green salad finished the meal.

Tuna patties

Tuna patties, mixed vegetables and balsamic brussel sprouts w/ pancetta.
Canned tuna mixed with chopped red bell pepper, onion, green onion, Italian parsley, good Dijon mustard, a bit of light Kewpie mayonnaise, a small amount of bread crumbs and one egg- sauteed in a hot pan coated with cooking spray. After blanching the brussel sprouts, I rendered one slice of pancetta in a pan and added the sprouts + sliced shallots. Salt, pepper and a splash of balsamic finish the dish and give it some nice carmelization.

Note: none of this is gourmet!! Just quick and easy weeknight dinners that I thought I’d share.

I did make a pear and almond tart for a friend’s birthday which I also documented but did not consume. Pear Halves in White Grape Juice sold at Trader Joe’s makes this tart SO easy and beautiful. You could poach your own pears, and I have for this recipe, but honestly- these are perfectly juicy and sweet and the color is just perfect.

Happy New Year!
New Year’s in Nashville……..yee haw!

You heard right. This here LA-by-way-of-Tokyo-by-way-of-LA girl spent her New Year’s vacation in Nashville. Why, you ask? Well, first of all, our best friends (husband/wife) moved there about a year ago due to a job transfer and we miss them terribly. Second, we thought it’d be nice to get away from LA during a hectic time.

Of course I don’t want to stereotype- I know that Nashville isn’t just cowboys and BBQ. Our friends live in East Nashville, and it’s fast becoming the liberal/hipster part of the city. People are refurbishing beautiful old Victorians, there are a couple cafes that look straight out of Seattle and we even managed to get fabulous last-minute massages on New Year’s Eve!

Now for the eating part. Although I did bring my camera everywhere I went, I almost ALWAYS forget to actually take a photo of the food before I started consuming it. I’m sure a lot of food bloggers have this problem. Take a photo of the outside, go in and sit, take a few photos of the nice interior, start talking with your friends, you see the waiter approach with plates of piping hot food, you get excited, waiter sets down food and you dive in. After about 20 bites, you realize you didn’t take a photo of the actual FOOD! So maybe I should start a “restaurant photos” blog to have a place for all of my pics of dining tables, restaurant signs and bread baskets. HA.

We went to the famous Loveless Cafe for some brunch. As soon as we sat down we were given a plate of fluffy biscuits, butter and several types of jam. Delicious. Those are the first things that never made it to my Cybershot. I ordered the pulled pork and eggs which almost didn’t make the blog but I caught myself after eating one egg so it is on here. The pork was very good, eggs were pretty runny for my taste (I asked for over-medium but even the whites were sort of runny….ew). They came with a sidedish called Hashbrown Casserole – basically shredded potatoes cooked with meat juices and lots of cheese to bind it all together. Yes, although it probably took about 2 years off my life, it was damn good. My dining companions had pancakes which were good but the syrup was the cheap & sugary type. Read: not so great. As my friend said, Loveless Cafe is more for the experience of going, not the food.

We went to a restaurant called Cabana for New Year’s Eve, and boy- was I disappointed. I won’t go into too many details since again- taking photos just slipped my mind (Note to self: 5 glasses of champagne might do that). After doing TONS of research in the 2 months leading up to our trip, I settled on Cabana since it sounded like a good mix of young crowd, gourmet comfort food and most importantly, NASHVILLE type food. I didn’t want to go all the way over there to eat Californian Cuisine. The place was very brightly lit and just reeked of frat/sorority party as the people in the bar area spilled over into the dining area. Flat screen TVs were everywhere, and they brought out the 6 small plates we ordered so fast that we were done in less than one hour. To top it all off, the food was “eh”….not bad but definitely nothing to write home about.

We basically spent the weekend lounging in the house, cooking some meals and had one more brunch out at the Red Wagon Cafe. Not bad- but again, nothing to write home (or blog much) about. I ordered the “scrambled eggs with tortilla strips and homemade salsa” thinking it’d be like chilaquiles. Nope. The “tortilla strips” were actually strips of SOFT flour tortillas mixed in the eggs. Strange. It tasted fine but everything was just a half step off- you know when that happens? The biscuits tasted good but were too heavy, like scones. The grits’ consistency was perfect but lacked in flavor. And so on.

The last evening we were there, we decided to go shopping and made our own dinner. We found big bags of large clams at $3.99/bag- what a bargain!- bought some red snapper fillets and some stew meat. By the time we sat down, my friend had whipped up some awesome garlic clams, we made some foil-baked snapper and I stewed up a pot of boeuf zinfandel (a play on the classic bourginon) and sliced enough crusty/tender french bread to feed a small country. Now THAT was a good meal. Sometimes, nothing beats homemade, especially when it’s a collaboration with great friends.

Thanks Nashville!!

“Pour me another scotch, Smitty.”

Stoney Point Bar & Grill, Pasadena

We moved into our house about five years ago, and since we live very close to Old Town Pasadena, we usually venture there for dinner. Other favorite areas include Silverlake, Los Feliz and Downtown. Eagle Rock is another good choice for some decent eating. We’d noticed this restaurant called Stoney Point right up the street from our house about a month after we arrived in the area, but paid little attention. It looked so old-school, and sat on the stretch of Colorado Blvd that was right next to the strip of the 134 freeway that turns into the 210. There was (and still is) nothing in that area.

After a couple of years of eating at practically every place in the Eastside, we were having one of those nights where we were too lazy to cook and too lazy to drive anywhere far. We were also feeling entirely too lazy (see a theme here?) to deal with the hustle and bustle of the parking structures and crowds of Old Town. “What about that Stoney place?” said my husband. The proximity of the restaurant to our house (about 1 mile) made it a clear winner for the evening. We were quite surprised to see that the inside was quite cozy, lots of dark wood and well dressed waiters. There was a piano player and quite a few patrons eating at the mahogany bar. The main thing I remember about that night was the salmon. It was like a chunk of butter- rich, beautifully cooked and oh-so-delicious. Whoda thunkit??

The other night, we were faced with a similar dilemma- where to eat, somewhere close, somewhere nice that my in-laws would like. Again, Stoney Point came to mind and five of us went. We were greeted warmly by the host who sat us at a nice round table (I love round tables so everyone can talk to everyone). The restaurant was decorated festively and the same, well-dressed waiter came and asked us what we’d like to drink. I could feel the chill coming out of my hands (I know I know – you’re thinking what chill? It’s friggin Los Angeles! but it was cold last night!) and the place was just so cozy and inviting.

The waiter brought our wine and a plate of bruschetta- they give everyone a plate of those instead of a bread basket. Ripe tomatoes, pungent garlic and fresh basil just exploded on the crunchy, toasted baguette slices. I started with the mixed greens- nice level of dressing topped with some tomatoes and toasted pine nut- very good. My husband had the black bean soup- also very good. More ham-hock-style bean soup rather than Latin black bean soup. Next came my swordfish special- a luciously moist swordfish steak coated in tomtaoes, basil and garlic accompanied by brocolli, potatoes and carrots. I was wary of ordering a fish that often comes out dry at many places, but man- was I glad I did. SO good. My husband’s salmon was a buttery and delicious as the last time we’d tried it, and my aunt’s pasta w/ chicken and red peppers was creamy, smoky and perfectly seasoned. My in-laws were more than pleased with their dishes- Cannelloni alla Fiorentina (filled with spinach and ricotta) and a Red Snapper sauteed in butter and capers topped with shrimp and scallops.


For dessert, I was so excited to see Tartufo Ice Cream on the menu- I hadn’t had one of those since I was a kid at Bona Corso’s (now closed). It’s just a scoop of ice cream coated in hard chocolate. SO good. I was wondering whether to get the cappucino or white chocolate flavor when the waiter informed us that tonight was the only night in his 18 years of working there that they were out of the Tartufo Ice Cream. Rats! At least I know I can get it again. We settled on the hazelnut and vanilla gelatos and both were excellent.

My in-laws paid so I don’t know the exact cost, but at a glance it looked like $220. That’s 1 soup, 2 salads, 5 entrees and 3 desserts + 2 bottles of Acacia Pinot Noir. Not bad. The service is old-school impeccable, and the atmopshere warm and relaxing. I could do without the piano player but otherwise, I truly enjoyed myself.

This is my last blog entry of 2005, so I hope you all have a very happy New Year’s!!! Here’s to another great year of wonderful food, wine and blogging!!

Citizen of the Year: Citizen Cake

What, do you ask, am I doing blogging on Christmas Eve? Not to worry- as I type this, I am in the middle of that roughly 2 hour period between being totally ready to go and when everyone finally comes over. I am at my husband’s parents house, all dressed, but no one else gets here for another couple of hours. So my husband, in-laws and I are noshing on some foie gras and drinking some mildly sweet French wine. Basically, I’m in heaven. I think the only person who loves foie gras more than I do is my father-in-law, and sharing the experience together is always a joy.

But I HAVE to blog now while the memory of my brunch is still fresh. My favorite all-time breakfast/bakery place on this earth is in San Francisco so I only get to visit it once in awhile when I visit family. Citizen Cake. Even the name is clever. I’ve loved it for years and often crave what I consider to be the best almond croissants this side of Paris. I’d ask my sister to bring some back to Los Angeles when she still lived the in Bay Area and practically grab anyone who was visiting SF by the neck and demand they try the flaky pastries. If I could mail order them to arrive every Sunday morning, I would. If I hadn’t met my husband first, I would have married it. Wait, I think I did meet the Citizen Cake Almond Criossant first…..hm………..well, you get the idea. The reason why I love them so is because, unlike many average almond criossants, they are crispy on the outside and NOT soggy on the inside. The almond paste is completely evenly distributed throughout the entire criossant. How many times have you bitten into the end of an almond croissant, only to bite into pastry? Then to find that all of the almond paste is in the middle, formed in a massively unappetizing ball? The pastry around has turned soggy and gummy and you lose all of the flakiness that you’re supposed to get? Not with the CC version. I finally figured out why. They take a perfectly crisp criossant and cut it in half horizontally, THEN spread an even layer of almond paste and carefully sandwich it back together. So carefully that you cannot see the cut, nor realize (until after the 50th time you’ve had one) that it was done. Then there is some of the same almond paste spread on top of the criossant, topped with crunchy toasted almond slices. It may be baked a second time to allow the top to crispen a bit- I’m still not sure about that one.

All the way into the city (from Marin) I thought about my beloved CC Almond Criossant. Would I order something in addition to it? Just enjoy it with a cup of strong coffee? I could practically feel the flakes of buttery pastry crumbling down my chin. We found a parking spot right in front and strolled into the cozy loft-like space. Yes, a cozy loft. I can’t tell you why it has both urban hipness and warmth, but it does. Sat down, ordered an almond croissant to start as we perused the menu. The waitress then broke the awful news. They were all sold out of almond criossants, they only made 4 today. FOUR?! The place had only opened 30 minutes before our arrival! But I could not get angry- after all, I understand that San Franciscans must adore them as much as I so I could only admire their speed in getting to them before I did.

By the end of the meal, I was actually a bit glad I hadn’t been able to have it. Because I ordered something off the menu which turned into my Citizen Cake Love #2. The minute I saw “Pulled Pork Sandwich” I knew I had to have it- it’s one of those things that I see on TV or read about often but rarely have a chance to eat. I figured the CC version must be great, and boy- I was not disappointed. A pile of tender, vinegary sweet pork on a homemade bun, accompanied by fennel-seed pickeled vegetables and coleslaw appeared at our table. I piled the coleslaw on top of the meat and took a bite. YUM. Not overpoweringly sauced, the pork flavor was what stood out the most. To me, the taste of the MEAT is what is important- the sauces and accompaniments should enhance but not overpower, and this was the perfect example. I know that a pulled pork sandwich is a strange thing to have for brunch, but I knew Elizabeth Faulkner (the owner/chef) could pull off a version that would be perfect any time of the day and it was. And hey – what better to start off a day of crazy eating than with a pork sandwich? (I think I’ll live to regret it but oh well!) So thanks, Citzen Cake, for denying me of my almond criossants so I had a chance to try your divine sandwich. I wonder if I can get that Fed Ex’d to me every Saturday for lunch……..

I’ve included tons of photos of the other goodies at Citzen Cake. I know I went overboard with the camera but Citizen Cake truly inspires me- it’s the perfect combination of style and substance, comfort and beauty, art and skill, heart and perfection. I am thrilled to see Ms. Faulker featured in cooking magazines and on the Food Network- although I do not know her personally, I have always admired her ingenuity, passion and ability to execute her vision into true quality.

If you are ever in the San Francisco area, I highly recommend going there for a bite to eat.

And to all of the food bloggers (and readers!) out there, HAPPY HOLIDAYS. I can’t wait to read about all of your holiday culinary adventures.

-Tokyoastrogirl

An open challenge to all food bloggers:

Can you help me re-create a dessert? Last weekend, C, J and I went to Firefly Bistro in South Pasadena for an innocent brunch. I say innocent because none of us were prepared to fall in absolute lust with a dessert…but it happened, hard and fast. It started off innocently enough- J was content with his Green Goddess Omelet, C was noshing on her Hand Cut Beef Hash and I was unimpressed with my rather bland Turkey Benedict. I know- I should have never fallen for the notion that turkey could tickle my taste buds as much as a nice round of Canadian bacon, but hey- it’s Los Angeles and we fall for that kind of faux-healthy thing. I say faux because we all know what hollandaise is made of. And it ain’t tofu.

After our plates were cleared away and the waitress had to practically rip the bread basket out of our hands (they make this ammmmmaaaaazzzzzing white toast. Yes- white toast. It must contain a narcotic because it’s simply addictive) before asking if we wanted to order dessert. Since we are all huge fans of their key lime pie, we didn’t even bother to look at the menu just ordered it.

To our disappointment, the waitress said that there would be no key lime pie today….actually, not for awhile since it’d been replaced with a pink grapefruit pie. Same idea as key lime pie, just made with pink grapefruit. She insisted it was even better than they key lime, so we gave in and ordered it. It came, all pretty and peachy-pink in a perfect round, sitting on a crunchy cookie/nut crust and topped with a nice dollop of whipped cream. It had brûléed grapefruit segments and candied grapefruit peel scattered around it. There it sat, a vision in pink.

We then attacked- C from one side, J from another and me going straight for the top. One bite and we were asking for a fifth date. AMAZING. Creamy, tangy, sweet crunchy crust and undeniably, in-your-face grapefruitty. We tried a bite without cream, with cream, combined with a bite of the brûléed grapefruit, topped off with candied peel- every single version was simply transcendent. “Key Lime who??” we all asked, as we drooled over our deliciously decadent new friend.

Of course, the whole experience sent me on a mission. I must have another encounter with the luscious luxury, but I wanted it to be in the privacy of my own home. Since I’d never made key lime pie before, I printed out multiple recipes – although I soon discovered that 99% of key lime pie recipes are simply sweetened condensed milk, key lime juice and eggs. I knew that I couldn’t get the beautiful pink color from simply using grapefruit juice diluted in all that condensed milk, so I pureed some rind in for good measure. I created a cookie crust by using shortbread studded with chopped walnuts- that part came out great. But the filling never achieved the flamingo hue that the Firefly version had. I am guessing that food coloring was the culprit in getting such a blazing glow.

The actual flavor was good, but again- not as intensely grapefruitty as the Firefly one. I wished I would have taken a photo of the one at the restaurant but alas- it never stood a chance once we took one bite. I did, however, take a photo of the Tuna Toast version.

If anyone has a great recipe for this type of Grapefruit Pie, please let me know. It almost seems like a combination of Key Lime Pie ingredients (minus the lime, add grapefruit) and a grapefruit curd.

Anyone up for the challenge?

The Tuna Toast version of Pink Grapefruit Pie…..

I’ll never bake again

Cranberry & Pisatchio Biscotti before they get dunked in white chocolate

Every year I dream about giving out the perfect little package of holiday cookies to my coworkers and friends. Every year I pick three recipes, buy some cute bag to put them all in and anticipate spending some quality time in the kitchen. Every year, about three hours into the creaming of the butter, the rolling of the dough, the chopping up the chocolate and the trying-to-remove-the-cookies-from-the-sheet-without-breaking-any, I start to get a bit irritated. Five hours into the washing-the-mixer-for-the-sixth-time-in-order-to-start-yet-another-batch and divvying up the cookies into even packages, I start to get downright pissed. By 11:00 PM when I am still tying little ribbons to enclose each set of cookies, I just want to kill myself. OK, maybe suicide isn’t in order but you get the idea. “WHY OH WHY do I even bother?” There is no “Baker Of The Month” award at work. I doubt I’ll get promoted thanks to the time and effort put into creating little packets of cookies.

I guess, at the end of the day, no matter how frustrated and tired I am after the baking frenzy, I soon forget the bad feelings and just look forward to baking like a madwoman again 12 months later. It’s the holidays- when else do you have an excuse to share so much baking with so many people? The reward of seeing a cubicled coworker receiving homemade presents (from their fellow cubicled coworker) makes all the work totally worth it.

The final package: Brown Butter Crisps, Chocolate Sparkle Cookies, Pisatchio/Cranberry Biscotti w/ White Chocolate

Just remind me that I was swearing at the bag of sugar and sticks of butter as if they were people before I start my baking whirlwind next year.