Truffle Season is Here Again

Locanda Positano is one of the participants in the dineLA in January 2014.  Since we have had a very good experience the last time I was there, I was able to persuade 2 more friends to have dinner there this past week.

For starters, three of my friends picked the Capesante Marie Monti which were 3 big fresh sea scallops pan seared served with sauteed shitaki and smoked bacon. I wanted to order the same thing but thought I should try something else since I was assured at least 1 scallop to try. I opted for the Carpaccio Di Manzo; all natural certified Piedimontese top round beef with arugola and parmesan cheese. I felt obligated to share some of mine since everyone was happy to share their scallops. Both these dishes were very good. The scallops were tender, juicy and filling. The carpaccio was lovely especially after I squeezed some lemon over it. The arugola went well with it. I must mention that before our starters, our stomachs were already cushioned with the fresh
bread they served with 3 kinds of olive oil; lemon, herb and jalapeno.

There were four choices for entrees.  We all ordered the Tagliatelle Al Tartufo Nero. Tagliatelle with a creamy parmesan sauce and shaved fresh black truffle. We could have ordered the Tartufo Bianco (white truffle) for an extra $45. This tagliatelle was delicious with the shaved black truffle but rich. I believe only 2 of us cleaned our plates since we kept thinking that this dish is not going to be the same heated in the microwave the following day.

Dessert choices were Sorbetto Al Limone, Tiramisu or Torta Della Nonna. We all wanted the Sorbetto Al Limone since it was light and seemed to be the best choice.  I thought I should order something different so I had the Tiramisu. Both were good though not outstanding.

For $45, this was a good deal however, I must tell you that both Sandi and I enjoyed our first visit better. The starter we had then was the best! We could have had it this time for $45 extra.
Here is the link of our previous visit: http://solittlethyme.blogspot.com/2013/09/locanda-positano.html

Locanda Positano is located at 4059 Lincoln Ave. Marina Del Rey in California.

Salted Caramel Mille Feuilles

Salted Caramel Mille Feuilles aka Salted Caramel Napoleons are back. I have been waiting for her return since March of 2013!  See link on my original blog of these wonderful Napoleons.

http://solittlethyme.blogspot.com/2014/01/salted-caramel-mille-feuilles.html

These are available for a Very Limited time.....today and tomorrow, Jan. 25-26, 2014 at L'Amande Bakery in Torrance. If you are like me, I will get a few more tomorrow but will leave the lid open in the refrigerator so I can get a couple more days of these heavenly delights.

Lamb Loin Chops

I don't remember when the last time I cooked Lamb Loin Chops.  My friend Sandi invited me for an impromptu dinner last week.

The lamb turned out perfect. She marinated them in olive oil, kosher salt and crushed fresh rosemary in room temperature for about an hour or so. She cooked each side in olive oil or butter for about 3 minutes till brown.  She then put the pan in the oven for 15 minutes to make it well done. These lamb chops turned out perfect; though well done, it was still juicy, tender and very tasty. She served them with mashed carrots and parsnips (cooked like mashed potatoes) with a smidgen of sugar and a lot more than a smidgen of butter. She also made some stuffing to go along with everything and cooked some baby potatoes in butter.

I bought a trio of desserts from Chantilly Patisserie in Lomita; a lemon mousse, mango mousse and a white and milk chocolate mousse. They were all good but the mango mousse took the cake!

The nice thing about Sandi; she loves to cook and experiment. It's a perfect combination as I am her #1 honorary guinea pig.  Here's to many more experiments!

Joey's Smokin' BBQ

My friend and I didn't want to travel  far for a quick dinner before our dance class so we ended up at Joey's Smokin' BBQ at 25308 Crenshaw Blvd. in Torrance, California.

We ordered 2 sandwiches to split. One was the BBQ Brisket which is slow cooked extra lean beef brisket and smothered with their "suh-weet" bbq sauce and the other was the Pulled Pork which is moist and I mean very moist pork with the same "suh-sweet" bbq sauce.

Both came with a choice of sides and they had a few to choose from: corn bread, creamy coleslaw, red skin potato salad, french fries and Mama's addictive bbq beans.  We were so hungry that when we heard fries, we both looked at each other and nodded. We elected for creamy coleslaw for the healthy part of the meal.

The sandwiches were both very good but the clear winner was the pulled pork. We loved it.... especially after we added more of the suh-weet bbq sauce. They also had spicy bbq which we didn't use. They had packets of ketchup and mayonnaise which got me excited as this makes a great dipping sauce for french fries. Mixing both makes a nice creamy ketchup and does wonders for the fries.

A gentleman came by to check up on us. With his enthusiasm and cheerfulness, we figured he was not an employee nor a manager. Tom is the owner and we had a nice pleasant chat about the restaurant and his food.

We will need to investigate further and check out the addicting beans, the corn bread and the red skin potato salad, not to mention the baby back ribs!  This is a nice informal place you can go when you're hungry and also good for kids. They have a Lil' Piglets Menu for $5.99. Mini burgers, chicken tenders, brisket slicers, mac & cheese and baby back ribs.

Next time, we will go for the platters instead of the sandwiches; concentrate on the MEAT!

Is that all there is......

My 3 year old nephew Lewis who lives in Singapore has the same passion for food as I do. I guess it runs in our family. The expression in his face is priceless and the song of Peggy Lee "Is that all there is" comes to mind.

Cream Cheese Biscuits

I was at Sprouts a couple of weeks ago and bought these biscuits thinking it would be good for breakfast.

Boy was I right! I heated it up in the oven, applied lots of butter and some pineapple & mango preserves.  These biscuits were nice, light and just delightful. I do recommend them.

Raffaello Ristorante

I might have been at this restaurant ages ago but couldn't really remember my experience. My friend Sandi has been there and remembers the food, especially the Osso buco as being very good.

We had a voucher from restaurant.com for $25 off so we thought this was a good opportunity to experiment.  It's an old restaurant but with the feel of "real" Italy. They first served us some Bruschetta with Roasted Red Peppers.  That was delicious, in fact I think I would have been very happy with a big plate of that with a couple of glasses of Chianti.

A green salad came with the entrees. It didn't look to appetizing but we both had a few bites as our mothers always told us to eat our vegetables.

We ordered the Fettuccine Tre Stelle which had shrimps, calamari and salmon in a pink cream sauce and the special for the evening was a Pork Osso Buco (instead of veal). The fettuccine was all right, however the calamari was not cooked right; it was like rubber. The nice thing was when I asked for Parmesan cheese, they gave me a full bowl of it and it's a good thing because the dish needed a LOT of it.

The Osso Buco was very tender but lacked flavor. I have to mention that we split both entrees and we both ended up taking some left overs home. I must say that they give you a ton of food. If you are really hungry, don't have a lot of money to spend on food and are craving Italian, then I recommend you go to Raffaello's. The service is good and you will leave the place with your tummy thanking you!

Raffaello Ristorante is located on 400 S. Pacific Ave. in San Pedro, California.