Awwwe! Thank you Zagat! See the complete list here of other culinary couples in Los Angeles.
Ok, more on that 80's party.... My friends of Heyoka Hideout (remember their opening party we cooked for here) hosted a Murder Mystery Party using this company who sent an actor, Laura Rigores to assign each of us roles and act as our "detective", (she was hilarious, you should request her if you ever book a party like this!). In our case the "scene" was backstage at a big concert of a rock star (yes this role was assigned and that person had to sing alá Spinal Tap). This rock star was flanked by his managers and had a bunch of groupies, an ex wife and even a transvestite who were all in love with him and mugging for his attention. The role given to me was a has-been singer who is trying to get the attention of all the agents there (also roles assigned) and I get my back stage pass by being a photographer (so I had a camera to keep me busy). It was uncanny how Laura (our detective) was able to sense who were the biggest hams in the group and assign roles accordingly. For instance, read what you will into this but Matt got assigned..... the transvestite!
Of course we brought a ton of 80s food and set up a buffet. Think stuffed mushrooms, shrimp cocktail, 7 layer dip, cheese skewers poked in cantaloupe, sausage pockets, pasta salad with black olives and pesto, spinach dip, deviled eggs... the works!!! Best Valentine's Day ever!
Refinery 29 featured these little guys of ours and they are just so good I wanted to make sure you saw the recipe so here it is again:
The Foodie: Tara of Heirloom L.A.The Perfect Pie: Pumpkin Hand Pies with Maple & Sage"I love to accompany these hand pies with an arugula salad for an entrée or brunch, or on their own as a party treat!"IngredientsMakes 12 Hand Pies3 lbs of your favorite pie dough recipe rolled into 1/4 to 1/8 inch sheets and cut into 2-2.5 inch squares1 butternut squash split lengthwise and deseeded, or 2 softball size Kuri/Kabucha squash split in half and deseeded1 red onion, sliced5 cloves peeled garlic, chopped8 oz unsalted Butter1 cup chopped fresh sage leaves1/2 cup maple syrup1 cup extra-virgin olive oilSalt and pepper to tasteEgg wash: 2 egg yolks, 4 tbsp heavy creamAbout 1/2 cup turbinado or raw sugar 12 pretty sage leaves, wholeFor the Filling:Preheat oven to 400 degrees (375 convection). Drizzle Pumpkins/Squash with 1 cup olive oil, salt and pepper, and assemble cut side down on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet to roast. Rotating the pan every 15-20 minutes, roast pumpkins until soft to the touch and outer skin is dark. The more you roast, the more the natural sugars will caramelize so allow at least 45-50 minutes. When done, remove from oven and allow to rest 25 minutes or until cool enough to touch with your hands.Meanwhile, sauté onions and garlic in medium pan over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil to caramelize. When the onions and garlic are translucent, add the butter and cook to lightly browned butter. Add the chopped sage, allowing the sage to cook in the brown butter 30-45 seconds infusing the flavor. Add maple syrup and simmer 20 seconds, set aside to cool. In a large mixing bowl, scoop out the flesh from the pumpkin scraping directly against the skin of the pumpkins and combine with Maple Brown Butter and Sage Sauce. Smash to combine with a whisk or the back of a wooden spoon. Pumpkin smash should resemble chunky mashed sweet potatoes. Season to taste.Cover and refrigerate pumpkin filling at least 25-30 minutes.For the Hand Pies:Line up 12 of the pie cutouts evenly on a parchment or aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Place at least 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each cutout. Cover the cutouts with the remaining 12 cutouts and press all edges to securely lock in the pumpkin filling. Make 2 small parallel slits on the top about 1/4 inch apart in any direction. This will allow for the steam to release as well as give a pretty look to the pie. Place pies in the freezer to cool completely and harden.To Bake Hand Pies:Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove pies from the freezer and immediately brush with egg wash, lay 1 sage leaf directly in between the slits and egg wash over the sage. Sprinkle lightly with the sugar. Repeat for all hand pies. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool at least 10-15 minutes prior to serving.
Hello gorgeous venue. This is Malibu Rocky Oaks where we have cooked at for several weddings and yes, Hangover 3 was filmed here I have been told. Up high in the rolling hills of Malibu, with unadulterated views, it's truly breathtaking.
This is a heliopad on site where our friends and the hosts of this event, Casa de Perrin set up a bar for this event with Revelry Event Designers to mimic the sunset with hues of pink, gold, and amber glassware, and it is here where appetizers were served.
Among the six appetizers, this was a Trout Terrine with a bright pink Beet Pickled Quail Egg.
Flowers were by Celio Design, pictured here beside our Clam Fritters with Saffron Bur Blanc and Cook Pigs Bacon.
Dominique Pruitt performed during cocktail hour where these Potato Croquettes with Local Crab Salad and Harissa Aioli were passed around.
As one would expect with Casa de Perrin, the table design was a gorgeous echo of the landscape.
For the Amuse-Bouche we served a Wild Venison Tenderloin with Crispy Kale, Homegrown Blueberries, and Celery Root Puree.
Pretty place cards were designed by Anne Robin Calligraphy who also designed labels for our own House Wine served at this dinner. We made a Passionfruit Vinaigrette from the bounty of passion fruits overflowing in our garden for the salad course featured here.
All sixty guests were gifted with a leather bound catalogue of Casa de Perrin's offerings which was designed by Pitbulls and Posies. The next course served was Gnocchi with Crispy Cook Pigs Pork Belly, English Pea Salsa Verde, Favas, and Lima Beans.
And for the last course we served Jidori Chicken Roulade with Pole Beans, Pepper Romesco, and Roasted Carrots.
And to complete the evening, a dessert table where we featured single serving Spice Cabinet Cakes (here and here it is full size as a birthday cake), Apple Hand Pies, Dark Chocolate Shortbread Sandwiches and Pumpkin Mousse Fools with Graham Crackle.
Read more on this majestic evening as featured on Green Wedding Shoes and 100 Layer Cake.
Thank you so much The Hollywood Reporter!! See the complete story here.
And for our Holiday Menu, go here. And also here is a photo of our Turducken up close and personal! Cheers!
We are so excited that The Chalkboard Magazine just featured our very special dinner we announced here with Cook Pigs Ranch. This dinner was very dear to me because we were celebrating one of our favorite vendors and invited some fellow food people who are dedicated to progressive food policy to come join us. Sometimes cooking isn't just about the food you serve but the message behind it. It was an honor to able to share the message of our food at this dinner.
Krystina Cook who runs Cook's Pig Ranch has become a friend of mine so any excuse I have to visit her ranch in Julian I will take, and on one of these visits I collected rocks, fallen branches, wild turkey feathers and pine cones to make our tablescape for this dinner where we highlighted the sublime pork she raises.
Nicolette, one of our catering managers, and I created a mood board here to feel out the direction we would take for this event. We wanted to create a community feel so all of our esteemed guests could connect with each other in a ranch-like setting. Rather than servers pouring our house wine, we placed bottles on the table with custom stickers of little burlap piggies designed by our friends at Smog Design so they could just go ahead and help themselves to a glass.
Guests entered in through The Salon where we held a cocktail hour with a pork intensive Crostini Station. We made chiccharones, red wine pork liver pate, copa di testa, and maple and root beer cured American-style ham. There were pretty cheeses and pickles and maple candied marcona almonds too.
Julian is a little historic gold mining town outside of San Diego that is not only famous for their apple pie, but also for their Hard Cider so I felt compelled to pick up a keg of it for this event in Cherry Bomb flavor (!), but we also offered a bourbon drink with smokey bitters that gave a hint of bacon for this cocktail hour.
It was a thrill for me to introduce some of our favorite farmers and a couple of doctors and a nutritionist and some kitchen friends and conscientious eaters to Krystina at this dinner. I really wanted these people who I admire so much to meet one another since they share so many of the same ideals yet came to them from different perspectives. The Salon was buzzing with insightful conversation which truly was our intention in building it…. that and making good food!
Guests then made their way from The Salon to our garden area out back where some juicy chops were getting grilled off which filled the warm evening air with their delicious aroma. It's always fun for guests to actually see part of the cooking process, and for this dinner the grill was right off the seating area and contributed to the ambiance of our ranch theme.
Once guests took their seats they were served house made flour tortillas and an avocado butter which is a regular part of the diet of the pigs at Cook Pigs Ranch. We didn't want to make every dish pork so we thought it'd be fun to incorporate the macrobiotic diet of the pigs in our menu which so distinctively affects the taste of this richly marbled pork. Remember when we talked about it here and here?
Next up Matt formerly introduced Krystina and Mike Cook. He expressed how unusual small pig ranches are because they are so expensive to run. Without hormones or processed feed as used in conventional ranching, it takes much longer for the pigs to reach market weight which creates a greater depth of flavor and a firmer fat cap rendering pork that tastes similar to beef… or butter even.
Krystina and Mike answered questions about their ranch and talked about how they are committed to preserving and breeding rare, wild heritage pigs that are USDA approved. Their commitment goes well beyond that with their work to make their ranch completely sustainable. They not only collect beer mash and leftover organic produce from local farms for their pig feed but they are also building extensive solar power on their property.
Did I mention that Krystina and Mike rescue bully dogs? I love these people, I love them so much. Ok, I digress! The food! The food!!
First course: Matt called this "Pig Food", meaning this is a salad of what the pigs at Cook Pigs Ranch eat as their regular diet. Barley Salad with Macadamia Nut Pesto and Greens. This dish was really substantial and I need to remind Matt to make it as our dinner sometime. It was surprisingly delicious and filling and perfectly autumnal. Good dish for the winter months and holidays.
Dinner was served family style. We really wanted all of our chefs to be able to sit and eat and enjoy with all of our guests, so we plated up everything and sent it out all at once.
The next platters were a couple of sides. One being a Smoked Eggplant Puree, Grilled Zucchini, Lima Beans, Roasted Heirloom Carrots and Cauliflower Morado.
The other side was Cavatelli with House Made Pork Sausage and Broccoli Rabe. The recipe is pretty easy, see it here.
Let's get to the delectable entree! Here we have a rack of rib chops served with Basil Gremolata and Beans grown in our own garden. Some salt, pepper and a hot grill was all we did to this exquisite pork.
This dinner felt like our own invention of a Thanksgiving holiday. A bunch of dishes passed around informally and all to celebrate our gratitude for those who worked to grow and raise what was on the table. Instead of turkeys as decor everywhere, we used pigs!
Apple pie seemed the obvious choice for our last course. It was delightful to have our friend Chef Nicole Mournian of Gejlina and winner of The Good Food Pie Contest among our guests who asked me a lot of very scientific questions about my crust. Of course we used lard from Cook Pigs and a bit of butter (I hate to cut out all the butter!). Then we made an ice cream from apple cider made in Julian. It had a very delicate spice which was lovely with the pie. I like a bit of crunch so we made an oat crumble for the plate as well and then a tangy caramel smear to hold everything in place.
I loved everything about this evening, every minute of it. Each guest was so inspiring and added a different dimension to the conversation. Krystina and Mike put so much heart in what they do, their job is so challenging yet they continue to grow and learn and be better. They are such a model to us.
