Festa Toscana

One of Bacon’s favorite weekend pastimes is staycationing at a beautiful, tranquil, and idyllic home nestled in the foothills of a town outside LA. In terms of easy escape, it is unmatched. It was therefore the obvious backdrop for March's outdoor feast - the festa toscana. Meant to bring a dose of la dolce vita to Southern California, this Italian meal was a sweet treat for both the eyes and palate.

With a bright California spring sun on our cheeks, we started feasting early and served out the first cup of Venetian Punch Royale at 3:15pm (which landed in the hands of the ever-punctual Libby). The refreshing nectar started the feast off with hefty portions prosecco, gin, and Aperol, mixed with bitters, freshly-infused cucumber simple syrup, and juice from just-picked lemons. This was to be a version of the classic Aperol Spritzer, a popular aperitif in parts of Italy. Our LA punch packed a wallop, which ensured that the sting of losing a round of shuffleboard 82 to 8 was quickly forgotten.

While some played shuffleboard and others played ping pong, Philip e Elise got things started with fritelle di carciofi. Adding a dash of lemon and a dusting of ricotta salata, these artichoke fritters were the perfectly-light way to start our hearty Tuscan feast.

We then moved inside, where Adam e Jen served a carpaccio di tonno that was as colorful as it was delicious. The soup course followed next with a rustic zuppa arcidossana from Ethan e Jenny. After the soup, Jeff e Stephanie passed out their gorgeous red beet and taleggio risotto.

The show-stoppers were the giant bisteccas alla fiorentina from Jason (e Becca, technically, but Jason was really the master chef here). These 3-inch thick slabs of porterhouse were masterfully delivered to the table as thinly-sliced, cooked-to-perfection, and mouth-watering slices of beef. After the platter made the rounds and each picked his or her own selection, we couldn’t help but participate in a communal nibbling of the crispy and succulent (and giant!) bone.

 

(Sharona tells Brent there's no way she's going near that)

 

(Philip just goes for it)

 

(Jen opts for the photo op while Adam wonders when it's going to be his turn) 

 

(Ethan just goes for it)

The patata arrosto from Bill e Joanie was a phenomenal compliment to the steak, and the potatoes, even after a roasting in three inches of salt, were not nearly as salty as one might have expected. The focaccia di pepe con olio di tartufo was to be an accompaniment to the steak, but most of us couldn't wait that long to keep our hands off the beautiful loaf perfectly sculpted by Libby e Andy. The insalata di cavolo nero added a smooth injection of flavorful vitamins to our hearty meal, and the selezione di formaggi care of Rick e Cara left us on a savory high note at the night’s end.

Full and filled, we finished our glasses of brunello and settled in around the firepit to enjoy a moment of la dolce vita.

P.S.: And the night didn’t end there. Check back in  for our post cheese selection dessert where Sharona and Ethan’s dreams came true in the form of three dozen donuts in Glendora.

Surprise!

When [los angeles] is a moveable feast began, no one was sure how long it would last. Two years later, however, we were still going strong, and, remarkably, had not gotten (much) fatter. Becca and I wanted to mark this surprising success with something fun--a surprise birthday party! Since everyone had to know it was happening, the surprises came in cleverly disguised foods.

Southern feast

"Southern cooking is a state of mind -- once you have it in your bones, it doesn't matter where you are." -Sara Foster

Southern cooking is full of life and culture. Whether it is the sound of a skillet crackling, the crisp taste of a pickled cucumber, or the smell of Mom’s roast on a Sunday afternoon, Southern cuisine inspires the senses. We were able to recreate these experiences with our dear feaster-friends on a sultry September night (ok, not that sultry, but you get the idea). Inspiration for this feast came from Sara Foster’s cookbook Fresh Every Day. Elise and I have enjoyed many a meal at Foster’s Market in North Carolina, and were glad to share these recipes as we gathered around the supper table.

In true Southern tradition, a mint julep punch bowl helped start the evening out. Needless to say, it was a hit.

The first course, prepared by Rick and Cara, was a delicious fried green tomato salad with goat cheese and sweet basil vinaigrette. It's difficult to beat a fried green tomato in late summer, and Rick and Cara certainly brought their A-game in preparing this dish. Fried to perfection, the contrasting textures and flavor explosion made it one of the favorites of the night (and one my personal favorites ever).

Libby and Liz kept the bar high, as they presented their navy bean soup with rosemary and smoky hamhocks. Yes, hamhocks. And no navy bean dish would be complete with cornbread to sop up all the goodness. A very flavorful dish that left me wanting more. But alas, I knew that this feast was a marathon, not a sprint.

A quick side note here -- I believe that still to this date, this was the only feast where a non-optional break that included a walk around the block was incorporated into the night's festivities. This, again, was southern-inspired as we, Southerners, tend to take our time and enjoy things a little slower. So, back to the feast.

To begin the main course, Jenny and Ethan prepared a black-eyed pea salad with roasted butternut squash. De-li-cious. This is one of my favorite dishes from Foster's Market, and they absolutely nailed it. The sweet and spicy vinaigrette along with the fresh marjoram really gives the dish that fresh, summer taste.

The main course consisted of slow-roasted pork shoulder, turnip apple mash, roasted mushrooms and green peas, and angel biscuits. I was pleasantly surprised with the pork, especially with the earthy tastes of fennel and sage that rounded out the dish. Jen and Adam's mash and green peas were the perfect addition to the plate, especially the crunchiness of those peas. Cara and Rick provided the angel biscuits, that needless to say, were heavenly. Angel biscuits hold a very special place in my heart and were an homage to a dear friend, Flonnie. I spent many a Sunday afternoon dinner at Flonnie's enjoying fresh, out-of-the-oven-melt-in-your-mouth angel biscuits with pot roast. Truly a special memory.

Now, if you can imagine our delight, we still had the dessert course! And for those of us who knew what was right, we saved (or made a little extra) room for what would be one of the best desserts of any feast (unbaised opinion, of course). Becca and Jason perfectly executed the sour cream cardamom pound cake, with a dollop of fresh vanilla ice cream and peaches. This pound cake just melted in your mouth. I was hoping that Jason and Becca would forget a few slices to enjoy the next day for breakfast. Oh well.

We finished out the evening with fun and laughs. I think that we can all agree that the South was alive and thriving that September night in Echo Park. Soulful, seasonally inspired.

Cooking with Italian Grandmothers

After much anticipation, it was finally time for us to host a feast again! We decided on Cooking with Italian Grandmothers as the theme and distributed the recipes. This would be the first time the entire group could all attend (even if Jeff & Steph were a bit late to the party) so we assembled three tables together witha slew of mismatched chairsto accommodate our guests.

As our hungry feasters arrived, we served the appetizer Bagna Cauda of fresh farmer's market veggies andan anchovy dipping sauce.

The first course, which barely made the menu, yet proved to be my favorite dish, was Testaroli (chewy mountain pancakes with homemade pesto.) Elise & Philip cooked the pancakes to order on the skillet (insert attempted photo of Philip flipping mid-air pancake) and served them warm with the delicious pesto.

Next came the Primi. First was Gnocchi con Ragu, handmade by Becca & Jason with their very own gnocchi board. The pasta was plump and light and the sauce maintained that perfect tangy sweetness, with a rich beefy flavor. An upscale Chef Boyardee seemed most appropriate when searching for a familiar comparison.

Libby & Andy next served a light yet comforting bowl of Vincenzo' Pasta e Ceci (chickpeas with broken pasta.) This dish evoked nostalgia among the crowd, putting everyone at ease in preparation for the remaining courses. It was at this point as well when everyone realized the courses to follow and reconsidered their portions sizes thus far.

Cara & Rick perfected their soft-boiled eggs (after some struggle) and served the next dish, Leeks with Eggs and Olives. This plate was light and a great segue into the heartier part of the meal...or had the hearty part already been served? Everyone also enjoyed Cara & Rick's No Knead Bread that seemed to vanish before the main course even arrived. Many of us topped the rustic bread with some of Sharona & Brent's homemade Ricotta, of which they generously shared the leftovers as a precursor to their baked dish.

Sharona & Brent used the Ricotta to make Cauliflower and Ricotta Al Forno which was served with Jenny & Ethan's White Wine Braised Rabbit. The Cauliflower was cheesy and perfectly indulgent, while the rabbit proved to be a lighter entree, especially considering the portion sizes. Rabbit's feet certainly do give an accurate representation of the size of a rabbit's foot...or leg.

The meal concluded with Usha's Hazelnut Roll, which Jen & Adam accompanied with their homemade Pear Caramel Ice Cream. As you might recall, Jen & Adam provided the critically acclaimed Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Cookie and Strawberry Gelato Sandwiches from a previous feast, and so moving forward we refuse to assign them anything except dessert. Their hazelnut roll was a delicious end to the meal, and it paired wonderfully with the ice cream.

With the many courses and cooking time, the Feast lasted a quick 5 hours, so by the time everyone was finished and the last dish was washed, it was closing time. Our guests said their goodbyes and walked (or in Philip's case, shuffled) out the door. The feast was over, but the good news was that Becca & Jason made enough sauce to feed a small (Italian) village, so leftover spaghetti was on the menu for the near future!

Manifest Destiny: A Moveable Roadtrip

Fun fact about the Moveable Roadtrip theme: there exists a whole other delicious menu I had painstakingly planned for August 2011, but that shall remain secret until it's my turn to host again. It was after hearing the tall tales of Lemon's recent road trip back east that I felt inspired by the diversity of our glorious nation and decided I wanted the menu to pay homage. It may not have been the most exotic menu the moveable feasters have seen, but I think we discovered some tasty things.

The night started out on an extra special note, with the veteran feasters anxiously awaiting the arrival of newcomers Brent and Sharona. Since the menu began with traditional dishes from the east coast and worked its way west, I stuck them with what happened to be a pretty uninspired recipe for hush puppies (it didn't even include a fatty dipping sauce!). I think the first thing Brent asked me was how acceptable it was to "alter the recipes" you're assigned. I told him it's not. Not ever. Still the hushpuppies were delicious at the capable hands of the new couple, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

We stayed in the mid-atlantic region for the next dish, Jenny and Ethan's incomparable mini lobster rolls. I mean, really nothing more needs to be said about this dish except that anything with lobster in it is guaranteed to please. And they were mini! Even better.

We moved out to the heartland with the night's "soup" of Skyline chili. Anyone who's eaten and attempted to digest Skyline knows this Cincinnati dish is actually a meal unto itself, but I couldn't miss the opportunity to expose the group to the wonders of midwestern-German-immigrant food. Jason prepared the dish the way I prefer, as a 3-way, with the option to make it a 4-way (Google it). With decades of visits to 'nati chili parlours under my belt, my expert tastebuds detected just the right amount of cinnamon, chocolate, and secret spice in the ground meat.

Next, we rode down south where we met Jen, Adam, and their cornbread panzanella. It was a delightful twist on the traditionally Italian meal, with the cornbread providing just the right bit of sweetness.

For the main, Andy and I gave a nod to my Colorado roots with buffalo tenderloin, served with a cranberry blueberry sauce. It was our first time cooking buffalo--did everyone know that buffalo cooks much quicker than beef? We didn't. The meat may have been slightly overcooked, but luckily we had Julia's Green Chili Potato Gratin, and cowboy soda biscuits on the same plate. While the gratin recipe was indeed tasty (isn't anything with green chili?), the recipe mysteriously contained no cheese. When I make it again, rest assured it will be cheesy. Maybe some smoked gouda... Now, the cowboy biscuits were the most interesting recipe for me. Let's just say I feel like I can do anything--midwifery, medical waste disposal--now that I've rendered lard (pictured in its pristine state).

We ended back home in sunny California with an ode to the avocado. Technically an Indonesian drink, Elise and Philip's Coffee Avocado Milkshakes apparently sounded off to a lot of worried feasters. But they were actually my personal favorite of the night--surprisingly thick and creamy, not too sweet...and made even better of course by the bourbon that Philip snuck in.

Foodies abound:

LA Magazine's Top 10 Best New Restaurants in our fair city.

Lazy Ox Canteen
Hatfields
Waterloo & City
Cleo
Salt's Cure
Scarpetta
Forage
Savory
Culina
WP24

Who has been, who wants to go, Restaurant Week anyone?!

Start the critique and chatter!

A Philling Philly Pheast

When I think back on this feast, several words come to mind: "heavy", "full", and "raw meat". "Cheating" and "mantle" are a close second, but we'll get to that later.

Remember when my longtime cooking partner and beloved group member, Liz Lemon, was going to "move back to the east coast because it's so much better than California"? She conceived of this delicious hometown menu for the October 2010 feast, as a sort of goodbye and last hurrah. Despite what the publish date of this post says, turns out her move wasn't so imminent, and she was around to attend feasts for another six months or so.

As far as the menu goes, who says good ol' American-fare-brought-over-from-Dutch-immigrants can't be exotic? I still dream about the wild mushroom pierogies which Jen and Adam artfully executed. There was something delightfully simple (Amish?) about the pepper pot soup which Becca and Jason brought, even if it was vegetarian, and thusly the healthiest thing on the menu. And, as a self-proclaimed coleslaw lover, it was really special of Liz to share her Aunt Von's famous (and deliciously light) recipe with us.

But I must say the standout of the evening had to have been the enormous, cheesy, meaty, tasty (dare I say authentic?) cheesesteak sandwiches. Liz and adorable little visiting bro Jake worked hard all day to prepare them. Starting with the freshest raw meat you've ever seen (procured from who knows where, Liz is a vegetarian and practically pukes over raw meat), I can still remember Jake chopping for hours, when he would have rather been enjoying a Dogfish Head IPA in front of some sports game. He didn't know he was attending a dinner made for the big leagues. When the cheesesteaks were served, mouths dropped, saliva glands were activated. The accompanying photo belies the fact that the sandwiches were actually as big as our heads.

The night would have ended on a lovely note with not one, but two desserts: the literally-named shoofly pie, baked by Philip and Elise, and homemade Kandy Kakes provided by yours truly. I think we all managed to tuck both desserts in our stomachs, despite the mass of carbs and cheese that preceded.

However, the latter part of the night was rather more...difficult. What started as an innocent game of Kenyan Charades somehow morphed in to an all out scream-fest, with one team (I'll not say who) Googling answers, and another member ripping up answer sheets (can't remember who that was...). As if that heat wasn't enough, what we'll call "the mantle incident of 2010" ended the fun, and funny enough, managed to lift the tension that had built. Thanks Philip! A year and a half later, you'll all be pleased to know the mantle is still down, despite Liz's promise to fix it before she moved away.