Nectarine Lovers

Nectarine lovers rejoice!  I like nectarines when they are in season. The perfect nectarine is not too soft (mushy), just the right amount of tartness but mostly sweet and juicy.

The only thing much better than the real thing; at least in my eyes (and mouth) is a Nectarine Tart especially when it is made by L'Amande Bakery.  You get the idea just by looking at the picture. It is flaky, crisp, a bit burnt on top and has the right amount of balance on tartness and sweetness.

All the delicious tarts from L'Amande Bakery are best eaten on the same day; they strongly recommend this but I have to confess, I have had a slice or two the next day.
I serve mine with a bit of whipped cream, though some prefer a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

You never know what tart they sell on the weekend but if you call them at (310) 326-8980 on Friday afternoon, they can tell you what tart to expect. You can also go on their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lamandefrenchbakery

Spaghetti ala Rao's

This is the easiest spaghetti to make. The first step is to buy a bottled Rao's Homemade Puttanesca Sauce which is sold in most supermarkets and Cost Plus World Market.  Puttanesca has capers, olives and anchovies. I included a small can of chopped olives to the sauce and heated it. I added a bit of cream to make it thicker.

I then cooked 4 servings of spaghetti in my "pasta boat" (a lot less time than recommended) just enough time to make it aldente. Served the spaghetti on plates which I microwaved for a minute to keep the food warm. I put enough sauce to cover most of the spaghetti and added some parmesan.

The spaghetti was better than expected. It had a lot of flavor with the anchovies and olives; the extra olives added a lot more texture to the sauce. I served this with a salad I made with candied pecans, roasted edamame, dried cranberries, cherry tomatoes, and some blue cheese. The dressing was just course salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I should have saved this for Friday since we are still in the Lenten season.

Salted Caramel Napoleon

Everyone has heard of Napoleons but have you heard of Salted Caramel Napoleons?
It is to die for! Ana, executive chef of L'Amande Bakery in Torrance, California has done it again.

This past weekend was the first time they sold these beautiful pastries at the bakery. Not to forget they also have the regular Napoleons for the purists.  I love regular Napoleons but since the introduction of the Salted Caramels, I have to say that this is one of my favorites. My brother who is always busy came to meet me at the bakery on Sunday morning to preview the never-heard of Napoleon. Of course we didn't want to start with dessert though that has not stopped us before.  I talked him into ordering the Croque Madame. After that hearty breakfast, he had the salted caramel napoleon which he loved judging by his moaning. Then, Ana came over and insisted he try the regular Napoleon so he could compare it to the one he just had. Though he was full, he must not have wanted to hurt Ana's feelings so he allowed her to twist his arm.....not much twisting went on.  He inhaled the regular napoleon with the custard filling. The verdict was he preferred the original custard to the salted caramel. It just depends on your taste; I suppose.

Since Napoleons are hard and messy to eat as they seem to have 100 layers of flaky and buttery dough, I found that the best way is to eat it is with your hands. By holding it on one end, you are able to keep everything intact.  When you use a fork and knife, all the filling comes out the other end. If you are like me, I want to have the right amount of filling in each bite, getting your hands dirty is a must. You actually don't get it that dirty-just three fingers!

So the next time you have the opportunity to try these Napoleons, do so and let me know your preference.

Livello - 2013

This was my first visit to Livello in 2013.  I can tell you I have been there numerous times and I keep going back since my very first time in July of last year.  It has to be good enough for me to keep driving the hour drive.  Two nights ago, it took me an hour and 20 minutes! We were a bit disappointed that they have closed their main dining room which is now reserved for private parties.  The current room is nice a cozy with the bar and fireplace but it's not the same.

Sandi and I took advantage of the Gild City offer which was $95 for a four course dinner for two with a glass of wine. Some restaurants are better than others when it comes to prix fixe dinners; some may give you microscopic portions that when you leave, you want to drive to the nearest Carl's Jr. or have a late dinner at a coffee shop. Livello is one exception to that rule.

We started with the Chef's choice of Amuse Bouche which was called a Surf & Turf; this was Lobster with Tenderloin, Asparagus and Shallot chip. It was delicious. For the second course, we both chose the Brussels Sprouts. We both just loved it. It had big chunks of goat cheese, mitsuba, whole grain honey mustard sauce. We would have been happy to have that as an entree (bigger portion of course).

For our third course, we decided not to order the same thing. Sandi had the 5 spice Garlic Crust Lamb Chops with long beans and I had the Stewed Squid & Spaghetti pomodoro with broccoli cream.
The lamb was tasty, tender and just outstanding. The spaghetti was perfect that this may be the first time in a loooong time that it didn't even occur to me to ask for parmesan cheese.

For dessert we had one of each from the menu. The Ricotta Cheesecake with spiced pear compote and lemon ice cream and the Chocolate Cake with marshmallow, salted caramel and pistachio ice cream. I have had the chocolate cake before and remembered how good it was. The cheesecake was nice and light, not your typical heavy, dense cheesecakes.

Amy our server was attentive and very nice but we missed our favorite server, Joseph.
Chef Dayag came to greet us. I gave him my seal of approval on everything we had.

A note to Chef Dayag:  You could make that Spaghetti with the Stewed Squid a signature dish. It does not even come close to Scarpetta's spaghetti (Chef Conant's signature dish).  Yours have a lot more flavor. It was great seeing you and hope to see you soon.

Livello is located at the L'Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Best Boeuf Bourguignon in Beverly Hills

Hold your horses.......before you get excited!  The best Boeuf Bourguignon is still on it's way....but will soon be at the L'Amande Bakery in Beverly Hills.

I was lucky enough to be a guinea pig and try the boeuf bourguignon which Ana & Gonz are planning to have in their bakery which will open sometime this year.

Before the main dish, we were served a nice salad; a foreplay of what was to come.

The plates came individually, served by non other than the owner and executive chef, Ana.  All I can say is it was the best I have ever had.  She chose to serve it on pasta which was cooked to perfection (aldente) and that's a big plus considering this is not an Italian restaurant. The meat was ever so tender that I really should have used my spoon because as soon it came in contact with my fork, it just fell apart.  The pasta of course was a perfect accompaniment as it absorbed the wonderful sauce that had bacon, cognac, wine, carrots and sweet pearl onions. What the pasta did not absorb, the French bread did!

She gave us all a "to go" container for our left overs as they were big portions. Needless to say, I didn't get to touch my container. I ate the whole thing! She warned us to leave room for dessert.  I ignored that warning.  Dessert was chocolate mousse which I have had before; pure delight with an orange flavor. My husband Otto ate half of it. Luckily there was another dessert that I absolutely went crazy over.  It was a Caramel Napoleon.  I don't have a picture of it but decided this needs a blog of  it's own.  The good news is they will be selling these Napoleons this coming weekend (March 2,3,2013) and some other weekends at the current L'Amande Bakery in Torrance. You have not lived till you try these very flaky, crispy and just plain wonderful Caramel Napoleons.

In the meantime, we all have to sacrifice and wait (after all it's Lent) to get a taste of the Boeuf Bourguignon when it makes it's grand opening at the L'Amande Bakery in Beverly Hills. You can all join me in prayer that they open sooner than later.

Oscar Party

I had an Oscar Party last night and 3 of my friends came along with food of course, as that was the entrance fee. 

Cindy brought hors d' oeuvres: Hot Smoked Gouda Dip and a Parsley Scallion Hummus both from Whole Foods. Both dips were very good. She also brought a Rosemary Toscano Cheese from Trader Joe's.

Sujata brought Samosas which she made. For those of you who don't know what they are; Samosa is an Indian appetizer made of potatoes and peas and rolled in a dough then deep fried.  She had 2 sauces that went with it, a mint sauce and date sauce which was a bit sweet and spicy. She also brought some Vodka Jello Shots!  Those were really strong.

I wanted them to try the Blueberry Pesto Pizza I recently blogged about so that is what I made. I had planned to make a salad but they all objected to that as everyone was so full from the appetizers.

For dessert, Sandi brought her homemade Blueberry Sour Cream Pie and White Chocolate Lime with Graham Cracker Crust and strawberries on top. Both were outstanding.

No one left hungry. Everyone was happy except for the fact that Jennifer Lawrence won best actress. She was good but surely she was not the best, and why may I ask did Mrs. Obama have to present best movie....what does she have to do with the movie business....the answer is I guess obvious......Hollywood equals democrats; need I say more?

Poached Salmon at Cafe Cego's

If you have never had the poached salmon at Cafe Cegos's in Rolling Hills Estates, it is time you make a trip as it will be worth your while.  I had forgotten how good it was till yesterday when I thought I should eat healthy for a change.

It is normally served with cucumber salad but since I didn't want to overdo the "healthy", I opted for the Rosti potato which is fried and went very well with the ever so tender poached salmon cooked to perfection. This came with a green chili sauce which was creamy and yummy on the salmon.

When I was in Paris a few years ago, my brother and I went to the famous restaurant, Fouquet's at Champ-Elysees.  I ordered their poached salmon which I expected to be much better than the one I had in Rolling Hills.  Boy was I very disappointed. It was not half as good!

So when you get a chance in the very near future, stop by Cafe Cego's at 777 Deep Valley Rd. in Rolling Hills Estates. Tell them, Karina sent you.