http://www.orangecoast.com/blogs/tasteoforangecounty/home.aspxfood blogen-usCopyright 2012, Orange_Coast_Magazine-NAThu, 17 May 2012 09:34:08 GMTTue, 15 May 2012 16:19:41 GMT1http://emmisinteractive.comWhen it comes to crab, West Coasters are justifiably, maybe even a little insufferably, proud of our Dungeness. Is there a better crab? No, is the short answer. Which doesn’t mean others can’t be very good—recently I tried one new to me that inhabits the same Mexico-to-Alaska range. It was Pacific stone or red rock crab, harvested year-round in Baja California. (Dungeness is available frozen all year; fresh during fall-to-spring harvest.) The pre-picked crab meat is $32.99 a pound at Santa Monica Seafood, and was just the ticket to assuage Louie salad cravings (at a non-Dungeness price point.) Pacific stone crab is also available online from Catalina Offshore, and sometimes at Newport Pier's Dory Fleet.http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10371925http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10371925Tue, 15 May 2012 16:19:41 GMTSeeing her in November at the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, it was clear that at 87, Mexican cuisine doyenne Diana Kennedy has mental and physical acuity worthy of envy by those half a century younger—a real-life exemplar of the find-something-you-love-doing-and-then-do-it aphorism. Rare enough! But when that something documents huge swathes of a country’s regionally varied indigenous cuisine, the benefit to all of us quickly outdistances mere role modeldom. Her appearance was in support of her new book, “Oaxaca al Gusto: An Infinite Gastronomy” (University of Texas Press, 2010), the culmination of a project begun in 1984 when the governor of Oaxaca asked her to write a book about the state’s traditional foods. Through interim years of publishing starts and stops, among them, as DK said at the MoLAA event, complaints like, “Do you have to have a recipe for iguana?” the book finally found a ...http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10167417http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10167417Mon, 14 May 2012 22:31:37 GMTHope you read 1000 Tacos, the fabulous blog of Sol Cocina’s Chef Deborah Schneider. Last month she demystified the classic Baja fish taco for home use—I know I’ll be consulting her detailed instructions for future Taco Fridays. Especially good reading recently, when she’s traveled to Mexico City. Her report of what’s what at the mercados of the capital is absolutely riveting.  Great writing as usual (such a pleasure to read a chef who can really write) and also fantastic photos. Insects, Billygoats, & the 100-Year-Old Virgin Xochimilco Market (Schneider moderated Diana Kennedy’s appearance at the Museum of Latin American Art late last year, you might remember.)    http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10206606http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10206606Mon, 14 May 2012 22:30:41 GMTStopped by the Sunday farmers market at Irvine Great Park the other week to avail ourselves of TJ’s Woodfire Pizza’s very fine product—the Mobile Pizza Unit I wrote about previously in ToOC continues to be a tremendous asset at this increasingly lively market. I am all about fruit & veg when I go to the farmers market, but I cannot harden my heart against hand-crafted, thin-crust, wood-oven-cooked pizza. Not that I’ve tried. Capricious, perhaps, but I have long maintained that the ability to hold competing thoughts cuts pretty close to the essence of what it is to be human. So with that in, yes, mind, I find I am glad about another non-fruit & veg vendor at the farmers market, Lupita Zapata of Irvine and the artisanal metalware she imports from Mexico. When I saw the array of copper and stainless and aluminum glinting in the sun, I couldn't help ...http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10212831http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10212831Mon, 14 May 2012 22:30:10 GMTAt Sol Cocina in Newport Beach, Orange Coast Senior Editor Anne Valdespino happened upon a pumpkin-spice margarita that sounds like a perfect, grown-up antidote to the sugary, pumpkin-flavored this-and-that pressing in on all sides this time of year. Some of those, honestly, are affronts to the American native squash. It sounds just a little crazy, but let’s consider this cocktail a vote to restore pumpkin’s proper dignity. To that end, Anne got us the recipe to try. In her words: Worth experimenting! It’s a refreshing and not-too-sweet cocktail. Here’s what I liked about it: It really meshes with the tequila, which already has hints of spice. The pumpkin makes it more substantial than your average margarita, and it gets its flavor from the true New World vegetable, not some phony syrup like a lot of the coffee drinks do. I really want to be drinking this at home beside a ...http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10324209http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10324209Mon, 14 May 2012 22:29:27 GMTShe has a new restaurant opening in Scottsdale soon. She’s just coming down from her multi-page spread in O Magazine. And she’s working on a new cookbook. We must be talking about Sol Cocina’s Deborah Schneider. For her, this is just business as usual. The February issue of Oprah Winfrey’s massive-circulation mag showcases 10 of Schneider’s modern-Baja tacos and salsas, from vegetarian sweet potato-black bean with chipotle sauce to pork tenderloin with pineapple and red onion. The accompanying story was written by the infamous Julie Powell (of the “Julie and Julia” blog, book, and movie), who turns out to be a Texan—with a Southwest native’s taste for tacos. You can read the article and get the recipes here. In Southern California, we’re used to great Mexican food—I love the idea that O is providing the rest of the nation with such high-quality inspiration. More such inspiration will be spread ...http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10351922http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10351922Mon, 14 May 2012 22:28:05 GMTAs promised yesterday in Taste of Orange County―a recipe from Andrea Nguyen’s new “Asian Tofu” (Ten Speed Press, $30). The book is packed with great preparations, but as soon as my eyes lit on the ingredient list, I knew I had to make this one first—as I’ve said before, peanuts and chili are in my Top 5. When I told her how much I liked it, Nguyen replied, “Isn't that an amazing little dish? What an endorphin-laden umami rush—I could eat an entire batch!” A perfect side for an Asian menu, or a super-savory cocktail nibble for any meal. All ingredients are findable at an Asian market, and some larger supermarkets. Take a look at Nguyen’s easy-to-use Asian Market Shopper app—it helped me find just what I needed. Pressed Tofu and Peanuts in Spicy Bean Sauce (Makes 4 servings) 12 to 14 ounces baked pressed tofu (see photo at ...http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10379228http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10379228Fri, 11 May 2012 16:32:52 GMTFrom Anne Valdespino, Orange Coast senior editor and wine writer... What happens when you get invited to Club 33 at Disneyland? You go. I’ve only been twice and each time it was a real treat. The first time you’re like a kid at Christmas with your eyes bugging out, drinking in all the details so you can tell your friends. Like the beautiful elevator, a copy of one Walt saw in Paris and had to have. The club has been in the news recently because for the first time it’s allowing folks on the waiting list to buy their way in, but with a $25,000 initiation fee and annual dues of $10,000 it will continue to be pretty darned exclusive. So my second visit was still extra special and for two reasons. I remembered the wonderful décor—it’s Federalist style and makes you feel as if you’re in the White House. ...http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10379983http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10379983Tue, 08 May 2012 00:27:23 GMTYou might recall in the run-up to SlapFish’s grand opening in Huntington Beach, partners Andrew Gruel and Jethro Naude solicited recipe submissions for a contest wherein the winning preparation would be served in their “modern fish shack.” A nice bonus was free-eating rights for the winner, as long as his or her dish remained on the menu—which might be four months or so, until another dish takes its place. After evaluating more than 125 recipes, a winner was named: Costa Mesa resident Michael Harris’ Gambas a la Plancha, a spicy take on a classic Iberian dish whose name means “shrimp on the iron.” I met Harris at the SlapFish media preview (there’s a photo of him with a plancha of his winning dish at right), and he was nice enough to share the recipe with Taste of Orange County. (You can read my report on the preview—including news of ...http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10379201http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10379201Wed, 02 May 2012 23:45:54 GMTAndrea Nguyen’s new cookbook, “Asian Tofu” (Ten Speed Press, $30), might sound like a succinct, single-subject treatise. However, the book—her third—is actually a robust tome, almost like a biography of the soybean, from how it’s used in multiple Asian cuisines to how it’s relevant in contemporary American food culture. Nguyen, who lives in Santa Cruz but grew up in San Clemente, uses nearly 100 diverse recipes to tell this story. Her clear descriptions of the various forms of tofu are so useful that it will inspire you to get a shopping list together. I love that she includes super-clear, compelling instructions for making tofu at home. I haven’t yet, but I know it’s only a matter of time. While Nguyen is realistic about most cooks buying tofu in the familiar rectangular plastic tub—she cites both Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods as having great product—in O.C. we’re lucky to have ...http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10379208http://www.orangecoast.com//blogs/tasteoforangecounty/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10379208Wed, 02 May 2012 20:41:49 GMT