Spinach Pasta

It was Cindy's birthday, and she had mentioned that she hasn't had or made the Spinach Pasta I used to make in the '70s. It was the recipe of my grandma's Italian friend. It was made with bacon and whipping cream. 

This was an effortless dinner. I made a green salad and served the pasta with some French bread. Everyone seemed to love it.

Before dessert, we took a break and released the baby bunny we rescued the day before. Dessert was store-bought Smores Pie from Bristol Farms. It was a "happy birthday" indeed for Cindy.

Forma

This restaurant really does not disappoint. Sandi and I had reservations a couple of weeks ago when Governor Nuisance decided all restaurants should close again, even if most of them were following the guidelines of social distancing, masks, etc. He did, however, allow outdoor sitting.

Sandi and I have been craving for the Fried Artichoke Salad and Cacio e Pepe. We made a reservation for today at 2 p.m. A few hours before, Sandi called and had to cancel since she was not feeling good due to sciatica, not COVID. She was almost in tears because she had looked forward to this, and so did I. Luckily, I was able to drag my son along instead of canceling the reservation.

It was a bit chilly, but they had heaters, so it was quite pleasant. I wanted my son to try the beautiful fried artichoke salad, so we split one. In honor of Sandi's absence, I thought I would skip the Cacio e Pepe and order something else. Erik ordered the Ceviche, and I opted for the Salmon Pizza.

The salad was delicious as ever. The Ceviche was nice and fresh; wild snapper, avocado, mango, cucumbers, onions chili, and a citrus dressing served with taro chips. The Salmon Pizza was outstanding. I've never had a crust that thin and crusty. The topping had a layer of crème fraîche, mozzarella, mascarpone, salmon, and capers. It might be the best pizza yet that I have had, and I've had a few of them!

Erik was impressed with the food. Who wouldn't? Grazie mille to our server Gianfranco who took good care of us. I was sorry to have missed Mario, who had just left fifteen minutes before we got there. Hope to see him next time!

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

Spaghetti a la Sandi

Sandi had a house guest, Sivad, who is a firefighter in Detroit. He recently stopped eating meat, so Sandi decided to make a bolognese without the meat. She called Zohreh for her sauce recipe which has a variety of herbs, onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, and lots of mushrooms, I call it Spaghetti Mushroomese ( I just invented this Italian word).

She served the spaghetti with a delicious Arugula Salad with yellow beets, asparagus, and shallots and feta cheese. The mustard dressing was especially delicious, which consisted of equal parts of red wine vinegar and mustard, canola oil, shallots, salt, and pepper. This dressing complimented the slightly bitter arugula and the feta cheese. 

The portion of spaghetti she gave me was humongous, and I made it a point to tell her she put too much on my plate. Much to my amazement, I consumed the whole thing! Sivad made a polite comment: " You did good," but he probably meant to say: " You ate like a pig." We decided that this recipe is a keeper though Sandi still thinks Zohre's tastes better.

Sandi apologized for not having a "real dessert." She served ice cream and the chewy chocolate cookie from Torrance Bakery. At the end of this meal, I really felt like a pig!

Thanks again, Sandi, for another excellent meal.

Lobster Tails

I don't get to have Lobster Tails often because they can be expensive as they are usually served with a piece of steak. The ones they serve at Lawry's Prime Rib is always cooked to perfection. When I saw the ad for Ralph's Supermarket that had them on sale for $3.99 each, I immediately went and got a few. I allowed for 2 tails per person since you only get about 3 bites for one. I planned to serve them with baked potatoes and roasted chicken, which I bought in their Deli section. I looked for the easiest recipe and decided to bake them instead of boiling. The method called for cracking the lobster tail, (cutting in the middle with a pair of scissors) and pulling the meat out of the shell but leaving it attached.  I squeezed lemon on them and brushed them with melted butter, sprinkled a bit of paprika. At the bottom of the pan, I poured melted butter and some champagne since I didn't have white wine. That allowed for a steaming effect so as not to dry the meat.

We were all surprised at how delicious and succulent they were. I have to say that preparing lobster tails are not that easy. Separating the shell was tricky. I kept thinking I would cut my fingers and end up in the Emergency Room. Luckily, that didn't happen. I now have more appreciation for these lobster tails since I now know what it involves to make them look pretty!

Jame Enoteca

We've wanted to try this restaurant in El Segundo and thank God for their outdoor dining, we were able to finally go. Sandi's grandson, Matthew, and his friend Anthony were here visiting from Florida, so she thought this was the perfect opportunity to sample the cooking of  Chef Jackson Kalb, a Michelin-trained chef who's worked at Melisse, and Joel Robuchon.

We ordered 2 appetizers to share; the Charred Octopus with chickpea puree and crunchy chickpeas and the Crispy Brussels Sprouts. Sadly, Sandi did not partake with the sharing of the octopus as she missed a delicious appetizer, but then again, there was more for the 3 of us to share. The Brussels Sprouts were excellent, they had a lemony and salty flavor which I loved.

Sandi and I split 2 entrées. One was the Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe and the Tagliatelle Al Ragu Bolognese. I loved them both and thought they were perfectly cooked, aldente, and I didn't have to ask for extra parmesan cheese.  Sandi preferred the bolognese over the cacio e pepe.

Matthew had Ricotta Cavatelli (dumplings) fennel sausage, chili, cavolo nero, and breadcrumbs. He enjoyed his dish. Sandi and I are not dumplings fan so we thought it was too starchy. Anthony had what I would have ordered had they not had the cacio or bolognese. He ordered the Squid Ink Bavette with rock shrimp ragu, chilies, stracciatella, and breadcrumbs. That was delicious.

The dinner was lovely, company, and food, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention the ambiance of sitting outside. We were right next to the Cleaners. One made a joke that if you got sauce on your clothes, you could just take it straight to the cleaners!

We did not have dessert there because we already had plans to go to Honeymee, the milk ice cream place in Gardena. What's unique about the ice cream is the very creamy ice cream with honeycomb, which I have had before in another location. Everyone loved it. My selection was the best, the Affogato, which is drizzled honey with coffee. One of the boys had the Dear Caramel, Ghiradelli caramel syrup with sprinkles of salt, and a honeycomb. What a way to end the day!

Jame Enoteca is located at 241 Main St. in a little strip mall in El Segundo. Honeymee is at 15480 S. Western Ave. in Gardena.

Thank you, Sandi, for a beautiful dinner.

Fauchon Cookies

My brother got me a beautiful box of cookies from the well renowned Fauchon of Paris. The cover of the tin can box with colorful butterflies was designed by Christian Lacroix. So beautiful that I was leery about the cookies. They say: You can't judge a book by its cover, and it is the same with food. When something looks so good, I sometimes get disappointed with the first bite. Of course, this is not always true, thank God for that.

I opened the box and sampled the different cookies with a cup of Moroccan mint tea. I am happy to report that they were all delicious.

 All that was lacking was the ambiance of sitting in a sidewalk cafe somewhere in Paris!

Hawkins House of Burgers

My son and I were heading back home from Anaheim when my inner clock suggested dinner. I asked him to look up a place where we could eat. Not too many popped up for dine-in at this time with COVID 19. He finally came up with Hawkins which supposedly had the best burgers. This apparently is an institution that's been around in Watts for the longest time. Not a great neighborhood but since it was early, we thought it wouldn't be a problem. He called to place the order and the lady said it would take 30 minutes. We headed towards Hawkins and noticed that there was hardly any parking spots on the street. Luckily, a car left across the street and I was able to park. To make the long story short, the half-hour had turned into a good hour. We were planning to eat in the car but by then, it was 83 degrees outside and we thought it best to just drive home.

We got home and I immediately got paper plates and served the humongous burgers. Mine was just the Fat Burger (all burgers made from Angus beef) with all the trimmings except pickles. My son had the Whipper which is made with 2 Angus beef patties, topped with pastrami and spicy hot link, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onions. The burgers were very good. The whipper was very hard to eat, I could not open my mouth big enough for a bite. We ordered some chili cheese fries to share and regular fries and onion rings.

The closest to these burgers in goodness is the ones I used to get at The Standing Room. I will have to have some soon so I can really compare it. We were both happy we got them to try but I don't know if these were the best I have had. Size-wise, it is beyond compare. The meat was excellent but I still had to add my Mayochup (mayonnaise and ketchup) to enhance the taste.

Hawkins is located at 11603 Slater St. in Los Angeles.