Dominique's Kitchen Three Course Menu

I miss going to one of my favorite restaurants in the South Bay, Dominique's Kitchen, the small and intimate restaurant where guests are treated like family members by the owners, Dominique and Liza.

Since the pandemic, they have not been able to open for indoor dining. What they have is a successful Three Course Menu for pick up. My friend Cindy has done this with a friend, and she mentioned how delicious it was and that you get so much food. I never doubted the quality of food but was not sure it would still be as good when picked up and eaten at home.

Yesterday was the day to experiment. My son and his friend were home, so I decided to pick up dinner for the 3 of us. I was to pick it up at 4:30 p.m. At 4:00, I was just starting to leave the house and accidentally glanced at the clock on the wall. It showed the time as 4:40 p.m. I thought the battery was dead, and it probably stopped the day before until I looked at the oven clock, which read the same! My wristwatch had stopped. So I hurried and jumped in the car and got there around 5 p.m. I was so upset and thought the food won't be as good, so I stupidly raced back home; luckily, my guardian angel was with me, and I didn't get into an accident nor get a speeding ticket. 

As soon as I got home, we unpacked all the boxes and put them on plates. I was too excited with my humungous Roasted Chicken with au jus and garlic fries that I forgot to take a picture. I ordered the Caesar Salad as my appetizer. For dessert, I chose the cheese platter with dried fruit and nuts.

My son had the Beet Salad, his entée was the Beef Bourguignon with creamy mashed potatoes, and for dessert, he had the Raspberry Parfait. We both wanted the Rack of Lamb, but they were out of it. It is wise to order days before to make sure you get your choice.

His friend had the Creamy Asparagus Soup, the Sole Fillet with red peppers and champagne reduction, and Raspberry Parfait for dessert.

Our dinner came with a big loaf of French Bread, which I had with my cheese and a couple of glasses of Tawny Port Wine. 

Everything was delicious, and even when we got our food later, they still tasted nice and fresh. I highly recommend Dominique's Kitchen for pick up. They are located at 522 Pacific Coast Hwy. in Redondo Beach, California. The three-course menu is offered only for weekends, and they started having Wednesday specials. You can call them or go on their website to place your order.

Liza, it was nice to see you again. See you soon.

Salmon Pizza

I had the best Salmon Pizza at Forma, but unfortunately, they only serve it on weekends. Our last visit there happened to be a weekday, so I decided to replicate it.

It turned out to be heavenly. At least that's what I thought, but more importantly, the people I served it to thought the same. I bought the pizza dough that you just unroll and stick in the oven. It is a thin crust and comes out very crispy. I just added mozzarella cheese, mascarpone, crème fraîche to the crust, and baked it. In the last 4 minutes, I added smoked salmon and capers.

All you need is a nice salad to go with it. 

Bettolino Kitchen

I got all excited when I saw the menu for Bettolino Kitchen participating in the dineLA. All I had to see in the prix-fixe menu was the Tortelloni al Limone, which is spinach and ricotta stuffed pasta with a most delicious lemon cream sauce! The lunch special is $20, which includes a primi (starter). The patio dining was ideal, and at 3:00 p.m., the weather was quite pleasant.

Only Sandi ordered the Rosemary Focaccia with sea salt and fresh rosemary for her primi. Zohreh, Amy, and I chose the Beet Caprese with avocado, cherry tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella with basil oil. The salad was nice and refreshing. We all enjoyed the warm crusty bread we dipped in the olive oil with herbs and parmesan cheese. It was so good that we asked for a refill.

When the Tortelloni arrived, I couldn't contain my excitement. The first bite brought back memories of how wonderful it tasted the first time. Everyone loved it. This is really their signature dish, and rightfully so.

Our server, Ann, brought us 4 little plates with forks. We later wondered since none of us ordered dessert. Andreanna sent us a complimentary order of their delicious Bomboloni, which are lightly fried doughnuts with cinnamon and sugar with a vanilla sauce. It was the perfect finale for this beautiful lunch.

If you get a chance, do try the dineLA menu. The other choice aside from the Tortelloni was a Bento Box, which was a combination of something. I didn't even listen since our minds were made up from the start. If you miss the dineLA, do go and either dine out or pick up something. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Bettolino Kitchen is located at  211 Palos Verdes Blvd., in Redondo Beach, California.

Andreanna, grazie per i deliziosi bomboloni.

Jame Enoteca

We wanted to take advantage of the dineLA, so Sujata, Sandi, and I went to Jame Enoteca. The menu which we checked out before making the reservation looked delicious, especially when I noticed that the crispy Brussels sprouts were included in the Prix-fixe lunch menu, which got me all excited.

It was the hottest day of the week. Fortunately, we were seated at the same table we occupied a couple of months ago; it was in a shaded area with a roof, next to the cleaners. This time the cleaners were closed, so we had to be careful not to splatter any sauce on our outfits! Since it was hot, I decided to order a soda instead of a glass of wine. Our server Francesca politely said she can substitute a coke for the wine. I was stunned and asked her what she meant.  A glass of wine was complimentary with the $20 lunch, which included a starter and an entrée. Naturally, the wine sounded much better than diet coke, so I forgot about the heat.

Since Sujata ordered the Brussels Sprouts for her starter and she promised to share a bit of that, I wanted to try the Spicy Caesar Salad. Sandi had the Meatballs with arugula. The Brussels Sprouts were delicious as ever; salty and tangy and burnt (in a perfect way). I loved my Spicy Caesar Salad. I've never had anything like it. It was crispy on account of the breadcrumbs. The dressing was reminiscent of a thousand island dressing.  I would definitely order that again. The meatballs were good as well.

Both Sandi and Sujata ordered the Spicy Rigatoni "all vodka" with chili, basil, and parmesan. I had the Cappellini, 36-hour tomato sauce, basil, and parmesan. It was excellent though, with that wonderful sauce, I think it would have been better on a different kind of pasta like penne, rigatoni, fettuccine. I think Cappellini should be reserved for basic Pomodoro with basil.

We could not decide which dessert to order, so we ordered two. One was the Key Lime Pie, and the other was a Peach Cobbler. We all loved the Key Lime. However, it was unanimous that the Peach Cobbler was not good. The peaches were not sweet at all, and the crumbly part on top, which makes the cobbler, was not crispy. I don't think this should be on the menu at all.

Our server Francesca was very gracious as she apologized and took it off our bill, which we were grateful for. A sign of good service. This is the type of restaurant that we would come back to not just because it has good food, but you can tell the servers are trained to listen to the customers.
Jame Enoteca is located at a small strip mall in El Segundo, California.

Another Wonderful Meal at Forma

Just cannot stop praising this restaurant for its food and service. We recently had a late lunch at Forma. With the pandemic, it so important to be socially connected with friends. By that, I don't mean large gatherings. I mean small intimate meetings over a meal practicing safe distancing, wearing masks, etc. That being said, we had a blast and enjoyed the food and each other's company. Mario, the owner, had a lovely set up behind the restaurant. It made you forget you were in a parking lot.

I informed my friends that we had to order the Salmon Pizza (which I had previously and was fantastic) for our appetizer, and they were all game. We were disappointed to learn that they only serve that on weekends! So we had the Mushroom Pizza with black truffle sauce and fontina cheese. It was a no-brainer to order the Fried Artichoke Salad, which is incredible.

We were almost full after pizza and salad. But the show had to go on, so we all ordered an entrée. Amy had the Tortellini; mushrooms with a light truffle sauce. Amy loved it, of course, she had my approval in ordering that since I have had it numerous times along with their famous Cacio e Pepe. Zohreh had the Calamari Salad for her entée.

Sandi had the Pappardelle Ragout, which she willingly split with me so she could have half of my Cacio e Pepe. Everyone loved their choices.

We really were too stuffed for dessert, but everyone was willing to have "a bite" of some dessert. I love the Banana Pecan Tart, but the Raspberry Limoncello Tart sounded light, and a lady across from us said she's had it and that it was terrific. She was absolutely right; it was delicious.

Gianfranco, our previous server, was off, but Francesco took good care of us. He was just as pleasant and professional. Another superb meal at Forma. Grazie Mille, to Mario. It was nice to see you again.

Forma is located at 1610 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica, California.

Cauliflower with Bacon

I picked up a head of cauliflower at the market the other day to serve with my pork chops, which I marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. The question was what to do with the cauliflower. I looked at some of my recipes, but they all involved baking it, and I didn't want to bake anything since it heats up the kitchen.

I had bacon, so I thought anything with bacon should be good. So, I cut half a pound of bacon in pieces, and when it was cooked, I added the cauliflower pieces. I wondered what else I could add to it. I opened my pantry and saw some panko, so I sprinkled some on the cauliflower. I still was not happy with it, so I added parmesan cheese. It was tasting mighty good at this point. What else could improve the cauliflower, I asked myself. The answer was a bit of whipping cream. Voila! Everyone liked it.