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Review: The Factory Kitchen

7/1/2014

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We headed back to LA to try out The Factory Kitchen. Again this is located in the Arts District of Downtown. This restaurant is located in an old fish packing house. It has cool cement pillars which keeps the warehouse intact. It is a fairly large restaurant, which is open for both lunch and dinner.

Restauranteur Matteo Ferdinandi and Chef Angelo Auriana share their vision of bringing fresh and locally sourced ingredients to their delicious menu. This team knows how to put traditional Italian fare in your face. It was absolutely off the charts delicious with a very friendly staff to guide you. I will most definitely try it again for dinner. 
Rumor has it, they might be opening another restaurant.

And what an amazing menu. 
We started with the Mandilli di Seta, a handkerchief pasta with lingurian almond basil pesto. It completely melted in our mouths with each bite.
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Our next totally ridiculous thing we ate was the Focaccina Calda di Recco al Formaggio Tradizionale. This was a very thin double layer italian quesadilla made with crescenza cheese, wild arugula, and again the ligurian olive oil, baked in a wood burning oven. Wonder where these Italians are from?
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Next was the Catalana Salad, which has mediterranean octopus and pinzamonio vegetables in a champagne vinaigrette.
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Truly an OC Wino's favorite pick. 
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The places I've tried in LA are so worth the drive. Come up and explore!
A good source to find restaurants in LA include Jonathan Gold's 101 Best Picks here, and Los Angeles Magazine's Best Restaurants list here.
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A Simple Party with my Neighbors

6/25/2014

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Last Saturday, I invited the Kramers and the Smiths for dinner. There was going to be five of us and I needed to prepare in advance since I had an adventure planned all day Saturday afternoon. Friday was my day to get things done. I needed to get flowers, set the table, and prepare my menu. 

I had decided earlier in the week that I would be too pressed for time to cook for this crowd. Joni Peterka, a well known in home chef in Orange County, prepared the most delicious chicken and mushroom goat cheese roasted asparagus lasagna and a delicious salad of greens, cranberries, pistachios, and sliced oranges with a kalamata olive vinaigrette. 
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"My" specialty lasagna
Nana Kramer started our meal off with delicious bruschetta. We drank Golden Eye Pinot, Rombauer Chardonnay, and started the evening off with delicious tequilas and scotch.
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 It went off without a hitch and somehow they believed I made it all. They asked me for the recipe and now I have no clue how to respond. 
We finished the meal with a delicious lemon cake from Susie Cakes. 
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The table setting was simple but elegant, incorporating my grandmother's stemware and my mother's sterling silver. 
Compliments to Joni and myself for pulling off a great dinner party!
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If you want Joni to help you cater your next party, you can reach her at (949) 646-5069.
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Restaurant Review: 370 Common

6/16/2014

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Do we all miss Sorento Grill in Laguna Beach? Well I can honestly say that its usurper 370 Common is one of my favorite restaurants in Laguna. They have an extensive menu of small starter dishes that are really all full of flavor and provide many different selections that are fun to share with a group of people. 
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Their burger is outstanding and of course you have to get the egg on top. The pasta is excellent, and the brussel sprouts and cauliflower will blow your socks off. 
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It is so much fun to sit at the counter and watch the chefs do their thing while you sip on a healthy pour. My favorite thing on the menu, which is not offered all the time, is called Sending the Chef To Cooking School. When it's on the menu, trust me. You have to try it out. 

The owner, Ryan Adams, did me a huge favor two years ago. As we all know, fois gras is illegal in California. I decided the day before it became a law, I was going to give a send off fois gras party. So I contacted Ryan, and he ordered three fois gras lobes. He was so amazing, had me back in the kitchen when I picked them up, and put me through a mini-cooking class on how to braise and sear the fois gras. It turned out delicious, my guests were amazed, and I have remained a fan of Adams and his staff ever since. 

An added bonus... They are open on Mondays! Try to sit downstairs. As I said, the counter is my favorite. It's loud, the acoustics are a little noisy, but it is fun and delicious.

FMI: http://www.370common.com/
370 Common is located at 370 Glenneyre Street in Laguna Beach, CA
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Recipe: Cheese Tortellini with Burnt Brown Butter and Truffles

6/2/2014

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For me, brown butter is the queen of sauces. When my kids were little and wouldn't eat anything, I would just put brown butter on their food and they would eat it up. It's delicious on steamed vegetables, grilled chicken, and fish. Burnt butter is a sauce that can be put on pretty much anything. Even ice cream (which is so damn good).

Let's take a boring tortellini recipe and doctor it up with this amazing yet simple sauce to change the flavor up a little bit. To make the sauce you take butter, put it in a pan, and melt it down till it starts to turn color. It becomes a rich, nutty, brown, tantalizing, and tasty sauce.
This particular recipe I would like to share with you came from Toscana Saporita Cooking School outside of Lucca, Italy. I was lucky enough to go to the school during truffle season. I even got to go truffle hunting with a pack of dogs (and some canines too). 
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Dog poo or truffle?

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Cheese Tortellini with Burnt Brown Butter and Truffles
16 oz. Tortellini Stuffed with Cheese, Pancetta and Cheese, or Spinach and Cheese
Half a Stick of Butter
2 Tablespoons Shaved Truffles
Parmesan to taste
Rosemary or Sage to taste

First, bring four cups of water in a pot to a rolling boil. Add your tortellini and cook to al dente.
Drain and transfer the tortellinis to a serving plate.
Take your half a stick of butter and boil it until the milk solids are gone and the butter turns to a rich dark brown.
At that point, add your rosemary or sage to the sauce. Cook no more than 30 seconds to one minute.
Pour the rich sauce over the tortellini, add your shaved parmesan and truffles on top of the plate.
And voila! You have a delicious entrée or side dish.

Note: Truffle season is around late Summer for black truffles and Fall for white truffles. However you can often find them available throughout the year in specialty stores.
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