Happy Thanksgiving Biatches!

--Text message from bchoi!, 11/24/2005, 3:42pm

As usual, I'm late. But I'm going to cheat and backblog about my Thanksgiving vacation high- and low- lights.

Wednesday the 23rd
[HIGH] Watching Kaitlyn, Hanie's 12-month-old niece, doing her imitation of Godzilla pillaging Tokyo by stomping around and making monster growling noises. Too funny. Too cute.
[low] Accidentally clogging the kitchen sink by forcing too much down the garbage disposal. Thank goodness for my Dad who dismantled the pipes under the sink to clear the congestion. Go me.

Thursday the 24th
[HIGH] Kicking kitchen ass with my sister to make our best Thanksgiving yet. Wild mushrooms rock and Excel spreadsheet tasks list rule.

Only a portion of our Thanksgiving Spread

[low] The moment I realized that we had none of the leftover Macaroni and Cheese. I frantically searched both refrigerators, top to bottom and found none of the cheesy goodness. Turns out my aunt accidentally took it home...AND SHE DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO EAT IT.

Friday the 25th
[HIGH] Hanging out with the old skool gang of family friends while enjoying chocolate fondue and playing ZapIt!, Murder and XBox Karaoke Revolution. I left the party at 3:30am, half an hour before the police broke up the party.

The Japanese are great at thinking up sadistic games like ZapIt!

[low] No Mac and Cheese leftovers for lunch.

Saturday the 26th
[HIGH] Dinner and Dancing with my girls!!!
[low] The middle aged woman at the bar who, after dry humping the couch, allowed a guy to stick his face in her crotch. Classy.

Sunday the 27th
[HIGH] Chicken and Waffles with a side of Mac and Cheese (!!!!) at Roscoe's.
[low] Feeling nauseated and not being able to eat at Dim Sum. Dim Sum!!!!

Overall
[HIGH] Family, friends and good food.
[low] The extra five pounds I'm carrying around.

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!! This has to my favorite of all holidays and not just because I get a four day weekend, though that definitely doesn't hurt. The holiday combine two of my favorite things, food and family, as many holidays do, and then adds thankfulness to the mix. It doesn't get much better than that.

A few things that I'm thankful for:
1. My sanity.
2. My friends, who help keep me sane.
3. My family, who copes with my insanity.
4. My cat, who cuddles with me either way.
5. Everybody and everything that makes me stop, smile and appreciate life.

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh My Darling!

I really like clementines. I like how they're so easy to peel and that I can stuff the entire thing in my mouth at once. I bought some at Trader Joe's today. They were pretty expensive at $5.99 for a five-pound box, but since I don't see them all that often, I picked up a box.

I really enjoyed Kate Winslet and her portrayal of Clementine in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. She's one of my favorite actors. I think she's beautiful and has done some really great movies. I say some because there was that awful movie about a sinking ship that doesn't even deserve to be named.

I also really like the cafe Clementine in Century City. It's a cute little place on the corner that has really great sandwiches and awesome cookies. The gingersnap cookies are delish. So are the roast beef sandwiches that are done almost rare.

And just to round this entry out, here's the lyrics to the song Clementine.

Literati II

There's nothing glamorous about the place from the outside; cars race by on Wilshire Boulevard and just around the corner, shoppers push their carts full of groceries from Posh Ralph’s. But once you step through the wooden door into the patio area of Literati II, you enter a welcoming little hideaway from the city noise.

When I was in college, I would often pass by its sister cafe next door, Literati Cafe and always think "That place looks cute. I wonder what it's like." Back then, the space that Literati II occupies now was a Koo Koo Roo. After my thought about the cafe, I would then crow "KOOKOOROOOOO!" as is required when passing said establishment.

I learned about Literati II from a review in the L.A. Times Calendar section which described it as a "neighborhood breakout" serving quality food at a reasonable price. It sounded like my kind of restaurant.

The first thing you notice when you walk in is how comfortable the place feels. The space is inviting and warm, cozy but not at all confining. The decor is literature themed, with books displayed, a huge #2 pencil hanging on the wall and the wine list printed on lined paper. The service is always helpful, attentive and friendly, with one of the waiters even taking time to converse with us about the television show Alias.

But the main reason why I love this place is the food. The ingredients used are seasonal and fresh. There are regular entrees on the menu such as the salmon and steak, but they were dressed differently with each visit. I've seen the pork chop with roasted cherries in balsamic vinegar one time, sliced apples another. Most recently, the duck breast special used tangerines and pomegranates to cut the richness while almonds added crunch for a contrast in texture.

Seafood is always handled well here as well. The black mussels appetizer is excellent, never overcooked, only perfectly steamed and tender. Combined with sliced Yukon potatoes and served alongside a piece of grilled bread to sop up the broth, it can make a meal. The sand dabs on my first visit were pan-fried in butter, resulting in delicate flaky flesh with a satisfying exterior crispness. My friend's salmon was cooked just right, with the interior still pink and moist.

And the dessert!!! I wish I could describe the array of desserts I've tried, but really, I've only had one. It's so good that I can't help but order it every time. People laugh when I tell them that the churros here are to die for. Yes, churros. They are nothing like the ones you've had at Disneyland or the ball park. These churros are fat, crunchy and sweet on the outside, fluffy soft and delicate on the inside. The cinnamon and sugar exterior give the right amount sweetness and the accompanying chocolate dipping sauce compliments the dish perfectly. You cannot eat at Literati II and not try the churros. It would be blasphemous!

Literati II always reminds me of what I love about food. With care and respect, creatively and knowledge, you can create a great meal with simple ingredients. This is the kind of place that I'd be proud to call my own.

__Literati II__12081 Wilshire Blvd__Los Angeles__310.479.3400__

Chicken or Beef?

When it comes to selecting my entree for a wedding reception, I have a strategy. It is necessary to choose carefully because names can be deceiving. New York Strip Steak rolled in Cracked Pepper? Sounds delicious! Halibut in a Lemon Butter Sauce? Yum! But one cannot decide based on description alone. Other factors need to be considered before checking one box over another.

It is important to remember that your entree is one of one hundred or more. This means that, unlike at In-N-Out, your food will be sitting under a heat lamp. If you like your steak medium-rare like I do, be prepared for medium-well or rubber. Chicken will most likely be dry and produce that sound from your your teeth stick together for a brief moment. Fish won't be flaky, but instead, chewy, only palatable when washed down with your drink of choice.

But all of the above gets thrown out when dealing with certain cuts of beef or types of fish. Filot Mignon medium-well is still decently tender and more stomachable than dry chicken. Sea Bass over cooked is less strenuous on the jaw than well-done beef. It's like choosing the lesser of two evils.

This weekend I attended a wedding where the choices were Chicken in Cheese Sauce or Vegetarian Pasta. In my imagination, that meant chicken with Velveeta or boiled pasta with steamed frozen vegetables. I opted for the chicken and surprisingly, it was pretty decent and along with a side of buttery green beans, made for a satisying meal.

In the end, it really just depends on what your choices are and which option would be palatable when cooked beyond recognition. My general rule of thumb is to choose fish over beef and beef over chicken. But just in case, pack some "snacks" in the car.

Call the papers!! Breaking news! It’s raining in L.A.!!

Yes, every single time water falls from the sky, it’s the headlines news here in Los Angeles where people complain when the mercury drops below 70. Myself included. I’m not a big fan of the rain myself, but there are a couple of things that I relish about it. The first is windshield wipers. I love watching them streak by, gathering the rain that then shoots off into the wind. My pet peeve is drivers who have their wipers on full speed when it’s barely misting. It’s important to have the right amount of rain accumulated on the windshield before wiping. Well, at least to me!

The second thing I enjoy about the rain is the idea of snow falling in the mountains. Winter is just around the corner and that means snowboarding! It’s always a lot of fun to go up to Big Bear or Mammoth to spend a day falling of my ass. And don’t forget the occasional face plant. But another reason I get excited about snow is that I love cooking breakfast the day after boarding. Nothing fancy. Just bacon, toast, maybe some sausage, and High-Altitude Scrambled Eggs.

Yes. High-Altitude Scrambled Eggs. That’s what I call them. Every time I make scrambled eggs in the mountains, they turn out amazing. Just a little bit of milk with a pinch of salt and pepper and they’re light and fluffy, soft and silky. My scrambled eggs at home never turned out that good and I could never figure out why until recently. After reading this article, my best guess is that altitude keeps the pan cooler, thus producing smaller and silkier curds.

So even though I started today sitting through an hour of traffic followed by getting soaked by horizontal rain, the prospect of snow keeps me cozy and smiling as I think of scrambled eggs.

Table for One

It's hard cooking for one person. In fact, I'd just rather not. My parents have been out of town for the last couple weeks so I'm left to fend for myself. Let's see, what did I eat for dinner tonight? I had 7 mini balls of fresh mozzarella with basil and olive oil. Then I followed it up with chinese dumplings and some pork shortribs. Last week, for most of the week, I ate reheated Green Onion Pancakes.

I don't put forth much effort when it's just me I have to feed. I've been known to have cereal for a meal, Honey Nut Cheerios preferably. Another quick one is an egg fried over-easy on top of white rice with a drizzle of soy sauce and a dollop of butter. Yum.

I'm willing to spend upwards of thirty minutes, even hours, on a dinner party or for a family supper, but I'm not willing to invest more than ten minutes into preparing a meal for myself. One reason of it is the amount of labor involved: prepping, cooking, clearing then washing. Another is that I don't want to eat the same thing over and over again for the next five days, which is what happens when you make a recipe that serves 4 - 6 and you only have one mouth.

But in the end, the reason I don't cook for myself is that utimately I'M ONE LAZY BASTARD.

Hello [Food] World!

I'm obsessed with food - eating, baking, watching, buying, reading, cooking it. I thought I'd add "writing" to that list. One day I hope to add "living," as in making my living from food. But in the meantime, this blog will be my space to obsess about food and share my thoughts and experiences about it.

Now here's where the disclaimer comes in. I'm not a writer; my sister inherited my share of those genes. I also do not claim to be funny, at least not intentially. Despite my disclaimer, I hope you enjoy this anyway. Cheers!