unrivaledkitch

Author: unrivaledkitch

05/20/2013

Lala’s Argentinean Grill

Lala’s is located in the trendy area of Ventura Blvd in Studio City. A hip little area of sushi, bars, small plates and burgers gives variety to the valley locals. On a very special evening with my sweet friend Bryn, we decided that we would …

dining out, Food Photos, Los Angeles Eats, valley

by unrivaledkitch

05/13/2013

Mother’s Day 2013

I’m so grateful to take time out to acknowledge some really amazing women in my life. Mother’s day is always a special occasion, especially now that my sister is a mother too. I was lucky enough to help make Mother’s Day cards for all of …

Chef plates, family food, Food Photos, Menu's, Parties/caterings

by unrivaledkitch

04/30/2013

Two Dinners with Five Variations for Seven People

Some dinners at our table just turn into an experimental multitude of different dinner plates, especially if we have guests or if there is something my sister is craving and my brother-in-law doesn’t really prefer. I have no problem cooking different dinners for one meal every once in a while, but I think it’s really important for families to share the same meal as often as possible especially when they have children. Kids need to know that chicken nuggets and noodles are not the only things they can survive on and when we all eat the same dinner, this makes them understand that a little more.

Please remember that not forcing children to eat what we eat is also a good way to start to introduce them to different foods. Kids have a natural inquisitiveness to variety if we allow them to understand and investigate new foods. This is something I work on with my niece very often. She may have a preference for certain things, but she still tries different foods on her good days and she’s 2 years old. So even just giving a couple of pieces of a new fruit, vegetable, protein or grain may incite inquisitiveness in our children’s taste buds and if that’s as far as we get and we try something else later, well I think that it’s progress. Sharing our good eating habits with children is so important to the modeling of their behaviors with ours, which allows them to understand that they can like and eat foods that adults like to eat as well.

So on this particular occasion my sister had a craving for pork chops. My brother-in-law does not eat pork much at all, so I had to make a different meal for him so we could have pork chops. I love pork chops, but I only need a little bit to satisfy my pork craving. They are easy to cook, have a great amount of protein and can be a very flavorful vehicle for a family friendly meal. When you pick pork chops, choose lean cuts that are cut about an inch to an inch and a half thick. If you choose pork chops thinner than this, you run the risk of having very dry pork chops, so I don’t recommend having thin chops unless you’re going to cook, serve and eat them right away; otherwise, the natural juices will dry out rather quickly. The pork chops I made were with a celery, onion and spinach cream glaze. I used parsley and rosemary to compliment the pork chops and to make a little bit of an herb crust on the outside of them.

For side dishes I always enjoy roasted cauliflower and so does my niece, so I pretty much always have roasted cauliflower in the kitchen. I also roasted cauliflower with a little rendered pancetta, a bag of kale and some zucchini; high heat at about 400 degrees, some salt and pepper and a little bit of extra virgin olive oil. It’s a fantastic side dish if anyone needs a really delicious elegant dish to add along with any protein or to add with just about anything: toss it into pasta, serve it over brown rice or just eat it alone.

Seems like these days, if I get the oven on I roast more than just one thing because it saves time, gives flavor to veggies and makes them ready to eat, if you’re not into eating the raw variety. I like using dried parsley, garlic powder and salt and pepper to season my vegetables, but mixing up the seasonings helps keep it new and fresh. Maleeya, my niece, really likes roasted vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, butternut squash and so many more; all of these are rock stars in nutrition and when you cook them this way, kids have a friendly finger food to devour. If you haven’t roasted cauliflower, you’re missing out. It’ll be your new potato chips.

My brother-in-law loves fettuccini alfredo. Pasta with cream sauce is a luxury item in this family, but every now and again I pull out the Parmesano Reggiano and we have a feast. I knew my grandma would love to have a fettuccine as well, so I made a quick chicken stock, creamy sauce with broccoli and chicken.

So after roasting my way through the kitchen I ended up with dinner for seven people with about five different variations, all equally delicious for everyone. I’m pretty sure this is not normal, but cooking doesn’t have to be normal, sometimes we have to think outside the box and make what we really feel works and tonight I did just that.

Cheers to cooking your way in your kitchen. I hope you enjoyed my journey!

Cheers

-Unrivaledkitch

family food, Food Photos

by unrivaledkitch

04/29/2013

March’s Delicious Offerings And It’s Already The End of April…

I wrote this a while ago and realized it hadn’t been posted, their such beautiful memories I didn’t want them to stay on my computer. Enjoy! I haven’t blogged in quite a while, but I’ve been writing a lot in notebooks and mental scratch paper …

Catering, Food Festivals, Food Photos, Parties/caterings, Uncategorized

by unrivaledkitch

04/27/2013

Maleeya’s 2nd Birthday

My niece just recently turned two on Monday, April 8th. I can’t believe she’s already two! It really goes by fast and I know that’s a very cliché thing to say, but it does. It feels like just yesterday that my sister told me she …

Catering, Chef plates, dining out, family food, parks, Parties/caterings

by unrivaledkitch

04/18/2013

Aburiya Toranoko‏

Pressed under an apartment building high-rise in Little Tokyo is Aburiya Toranoko, a Japanese restaurant scattered amongst countless others in the downtown L.A. region. I hadn’t heard much about this place before my sister gave me a bloomspot certificate for my Christmas present—she saw the menu and thought it might remind me of our trip to Japan. The promotional expiration date on the certificate was quickly approaching,smooth so Brandon and I went on a date, not really knowing what to expect.

Toranoko has a gorgeous mural on the large wall, where most of their seating is located; it is adorned with paintings of Japanese characters, which gives a light and distinct nature to the dark dining room. The middle of the restaurant is home to a long communal table with small dividers, should smaller groups choose to dine with large chandeliers over the table. A large bar fills the opposing side of the restaurant with many illuminated bottles of liquor. The brightly lit sushi bar plays host to the most intriguing part of Toranoko: as a focal point, three sushi chefs line the bar and about 10 seats are available to witness the preparations of each dish. A large classic Japanese painting with a tiger holding a baby tiger in its mouth sets a tone of fierceness in the air.Toranoko is much different than the classic timeless sushi restaurants of La Cieniega, like Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills. But Toranoko offers delicious offerings with flavors and techniques that are on par with some of the best in the area. We were a bit adventurous in our selection of hot and cold dishes and to our delight, the aesthetics were very interesting and wonderful.Our waiter was polite, but very busy, seeing as there were only two servers in the whole front of the house for a Monday night. It seemed as if most of the emphasis was on the preparation of the food. We watched with anticipation as we sat at the sushi bar for the next dish and as we waited each dish that came out was, for the most part, better than the last. Executive Sushi Chef Seiji Nakano was preparing many different delicious dishes with beautiful elegance and graceful technique that highly skilled Japanese chefs are so well known for.Dishes

Egg Custard |free range egg | ikura| soy broth

This egg custard was a delightful little dish. I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was because I’m not very familiar with egg custards, but Brandon was very excited about this dish. The texture of the egg was very velvety with such a smooth cool texture. The salty addition of Ikura, salmon roe and soy broth added a level of texture and salt to the tender custard.

Uni Goma Tofu | fresh sea urchin | sesame | wasabi

I love Uni, I know that a lot of people don’t like its overtly seafood flavor, but I love it. Fresh uni was paired with a homemade sesame tofu. The soy sauce over the sesame tofu with the uni was really astoundingly unique. It was like something I’d never tasted before, which is always something I look for in a restaurant. The texture of the tofu was so creamy and smooth, without much of the watery flavor that is associated with tofu. A brilliant dish.

Sunomono | cucumber | seaweed

The sunamono consisted of pressed cucumbers with a various arrangement of other colorful seaweeds. The seasoning had enough acid to salt ratio and the vinegar was refreshing and light.

Steamed Foil Mushrooms | enoki | shiitake | shimeji

Steamed in a foil pouch, these mushrooms have a very simple clean flavor. Nothing was remarkable about them, but they were very high quality delicious Japanese mushrooms.

White Fish Carpaccio | Japanese shiso | pesto

The fish on this carpaccio was cut just a bit too thick, which made it a little bit chewy when consuming. The shiso gave the fish a very fresh quality and the pesto garlic oil added a bit of a different element to the dish.

Buta Kakuni | braised pork | spinach

This braised pork belly was deeply flavorful. The sweetness and salty balance of flavor in the dish was really well done. I loved the addition of hot dry mustard to mellow the fatty pieces of pork. Chopped green onion and sauteed spinach added brightness and a very fresh element to this intensely flavored dish.

Chicken Leg Confit | wasabi | green onion

I rarely, if ever, order chicken when I go out for a nice dinner, but Brandon loves chicken and how could we pass up something confit. The meat was fall-off-the-bone tender and extremely succulent, while the skin was crunchy and very flavor forward. A perfectly cooked chicken leg.

Toro Tataki Salad

Mixed greens with a deep purple toro that was a very rich piece of tuna. The flavor of the dressing was mild to really let the pieces of toro shine in the salad.

Aburi Kanpachi

This delicious amberjack fish was served sashimi style with ponzu and house soy sauce. The technique for warming the fish with Japanese charcoal and a torch, makes the lightly cooked fish contain a slight smoky aroma and faint flavor. The fish was sliced perfectly with small grooves cut into it to allow the flavoring to melt in. Fantastic.

Japanese Scallop

Dry packed Japanese scallops were super tender, completely delicate and delicious. The sashimi was paired with lemon and wasabi to add a bit of dimension to the clean simple flavor of the scallop.Overall, it was a fantastic meal. Everything had an attention to detail that seemed to carry the passionate artistry of fine Japanese food. I’m sure we’ll be back for another delicious meal at Toranoko. Thank you for a wonderful meal.

cheers

-Unrivaledkitch

Chef plates, chef theory, dining out, downtown, Food Photos, Los Angeles Eats

by unrivaledkitch

02/12/2013

Yoga in Santa Monica, Ca. and 17th Street Cafe

I know I really shouldn’t spend money on lunch. I’m a yoga teacher (Kimberlyfujitakiyoga.com) for the most part and a personal chef here and there with odd jobs, caterings, and a million other ideas brewing away. If anyone is interested in my personal chef, private …

dining out, Food Photos, Los Angeles Eats, santa monica

by unrivaledkitch

02/07/2013

Spencer Makenzies Fish Company in Ventura, CA

This little fish shack is a Ventura staple of food. If you pass by at 12, you’ll see the parking lot full and maybe even some people waiting outside to order their food to go. We’d passed by quite a few times and I always …

dining out, Los Angeles Eats, ventura county

by unrivaledkitch

02/06/2013

Cafe Nouveau in Ventura, CA

One beautiful Ventura afternoon, Brandon and I were out and about and decided to go into Cafe Nouveau , which recently opened back up after suffering from a kitchen fire last year. The dining room and whole restaurant is very quaint and cute. It looks like a perfect place for breakfast or an afternoon patio lunch.

Brandon and I decided to dine inside this afternoon. The restaurant is set up into smaller rooms instead of a large dining space. It’s almost like eating in someone’s home, if their home had a bunch of other strangers in it. Our service was very attentive and we enjoyed our meal very much.

Brandon had a really delicious salmon salad and I decided to get a bacon cheese burger, which sounded perfectly wonderful at the time. Both the salad and burger were good; not the best burger I’ve ever had, but still satisfied my craving. The salmon was very fresh and the plethora of fresh and roasted vegetables was a perfect lunch. Our meal concluded with complimentary mini chocolate cupcakes, but what we enjoyed the most was their delicious blueberry corn bread muffin. It was definitely more food than two people need!

497 E Thompson Blvd Ventura, CA 93001

cheers

-Unrivaledkitch

Uncategorized

by unrivaledkitch

02/01/2013

Sakura Noodle

Downtown L.A. has so many places to choose from to eat and I think I need to do a little more exploring, but when I need a quick and delicious bite to eat after doing some Japanese food shopping, I always have noodles at Sakura …

dining out, downtown, Los Angeles Eats

by unrivaledkitch

Author: unrivaledkitch

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