Recipe #20: Bacon Waffle Burger

Welcome back, Foodster followers!

Yes, you read that recipe title correctly. It seems I recently got a mad urge to make a sandwich using waffles. Taking that urge further, I decided to be really crazy and make a waffle burger. One more push of that urge and I decided to bacon-up those waffle buns!

I'm delightfully crazy.

So, get ready for a lengthy recipe. Get these things:

- Handful of ground beef, (about 1/4 pound, or a little less), seasoned to your liking. May I recommend some garden herbs like lemon thyme and rosemary, with a little sea salt and black pepper.

- 1/2 sweet Mayan onion, coarsely chopped

- 2-3 large Crimini mushrooms, halved and sliced

- 1-2 sliced of applewood smoked bacon

- Box of waffle/pancake mix of choice (and everything it says you need to make waffles, like eggs, milk, etc.)

- White wine for cooking

- 1 teaspoon minced garlic

- Olive oil for cooking

- Butter for cooking

- Burger fixins (tomato, pickles, BBQ sauce, whatever you like)

- Chevre cheese (a soft, sharp goat cheese)

Now, follow these steps:

1. Cook your bacon slices until well done, then remove from heat, pat dry, and chop into pieces. Set aside.

2. Cook your onions in the same skillet (keep the bacon fat) with some oil, butter, garlic, and splashes of wine until they are nearly caramelized. Add the mushrooms near the end and cook down. Set aside.

3. Make a small version of your chosen waffle mix's instructions. You will only need two waffles. Before putting the batter into the waffle maker, add the cooked bacon bits. Then make your waffles. Set aside.

4. Form your beef into a patty and cook. I recommend in the same skillet the onions, mushrooms, and bacon were cooked in. There's a lovely blend of flavors in there.

5. Turn off heat, and top the burger with the goat cheese while it's still in the warm skillet, so it melts slightly.

6. Layering time! Put any usual condiments onto your waffle buns (mustard, mayo, etc.), then your burger with cheese, veggies, and anything else. Add your onion and mushroom blend as well. I always love avocado and tomato on a burger, so there's a suggestion.

7. Serve with a side of fries, chips, or starch of your liking! Here I have some homemade sweet potato chips.

You're all done! Not too bad, was it?

Now, I didn't have maple syrup on hand, but I would highly recommend tossing that into the waffle batter before cooking them. I'll remember to pick that up at the store next time :)

See you all again soon!

Happy Eatings,
The Lone Foodster  

Recipe #20: Cilantro Sunflower Pesto

Hello again, Foodster followers!

This is a very quick post of a very easy recipe. See, my local farmer's market has a stand where I sometimes purchase this amazing cilantro pesto for $6. I loved it so much, but did not want to keep buying it several times a month.

So, I decided to try making it for myself! It was a pretty successful attempt.

Get these things:

- 1 bunch cilantro
- About 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- A blender or food processor

So, just add all the ingredients into your blender/processor. Add them slowly, about 1/4 of the cilantro bunch at a time, and the olive oil slowly. You may need to add more oil, as I didn't measure this part exactly. Or more lime juice. But once you are done, pour into a small container, and it should be nice and smooth like this:

There you go! It has a nutty, buttery texture that's not as sharp as your usual basil pesto. Add a touch of truffle oil for that extra something, if you want! Add to pasta, spread on bread, OR do what I did and add a spoonful to your homemade tomato sauce!

Stay tuned for more.

Happy Eatings,
The Lone Foodster

Pilgrimage #24: Tamashii Ramen House

Check out this week's location here: http://www.tamashiiramen.com

Outside

Inside, bar area

Yeah, I won't even think of how long it's been...what can I say, I've been busy!

But I'm BACK!

And on this lovely, sunny day off, I literally took an aimless drive with no plans at all. Soon enough, I ended up in Sherman Oaks, where one of my favorite local art galleries USED to be...(RIP, Handmade Galleries *sad face*), but I came across a little ramen restaurant along Ventura Blvd. called Tamashii Ramen House!

Now, I will admit to being inexperienced about REAL ramen. Restaurant ramen. Not your college student's ramen. So this, indeed, was my first true ramen experience. And rather than try the traditional, probably more common ramen soup, I decided to go for a better fit for the hot day at hand - the Cold Ramen special.

Pretty colors!

SO, it was yummy, refreshing, and satisfying! I treated myself today for the price of $10.95, but it was a huge portion (of which I ate all, haha) and quite fun to eat with chopsticks. It was comprised of chilled noodles, tofu, bean sprouts, cooked pork (really good, tender pork), bok chou, seaweed strips, half a hard boiled egg, and some pickled ginger. I got a choice of sweet soy, or toasted sesame sauce, and I chose the sweet soy. Nom!

Sweet soy

Tamashii also has sushi rolls, which I'd love to pop in and try next time. It's a great location along Ventura, right next to Buffalo Exchange and other vintage clothing spots. Perfect for just parking your car and making a walking day of it.

Thanks, Tamashii! You've made my first ramen experience quite memorable. And thanks for providing a filling, cool meal on a hot Cali day!

A recipe comes soon, Foodster Followers. Stay tuned :)

Happy Eatings,
The Lone Foodster

Pilgrimage #23: Smokin' Willie's BBQ truck

Get the dish on the dish here: http://www.smokinwillies.com/

Hello there!

A short little pilgrimage post today, as I share one of the delightful lunches from my mom's recent LA visit.

Monday through Friday, the park along Lankershim Blvd., across from Universal Studios, is host to a myriad of food trucks. One can check the daily choices by following one of my favorite blogs: http://universalfoodtrucks.blogspot.com

So, Mom and I stopped by the park with open minds, and eventually decided upon something I miss dearly since moving out of the south - Barbecue!

In comes Smokin' Willie's, and it's awesome $10 "sampler plate," which made a perfect shared lunch for Mom and me.

So that pic consists of two BBQ chicken "sliders," basically teeny little baguette sandwiches filled with BBQ chicken, topped with their special cabbage slaw. And then two BBQ pulled pork tacos. on mini corn tortillas, with the same slaw. Potato salad on the side.

Delicious! And oh so satisfying for my long-time BBQ craving. Smokin' Willie's actually has different levels of spice for their BBQ sauces, and we got the mildest (Foodster has a low spicy tolerance).

And I'd never had a BBQ taco, so that was a fusion experience I was glad to try. Their signature slaw is really good. And I don't tend to even like cold slaw, so that is something.

Potato salad was potato salad. Good, not super memorable.

All in all, a fine lunch! And the day the park gave us was quite enjoyable.

See you all again soon!

Happy Eatings,
The Lone Foodster

Pilgrimage #22: Charlie's Pantry

This week's eatery here: http://charliespantry.com/

TOO LONG.

That's how long it's been since my last post. I know. I'm working on that...my apologies.

BUT, Mom visited LA again recently. And along with that came much dining! Much amazing dining, because two ladies out on the town can be sure of one thing...the LA pantry is full.

Speaking of pantry, we visited this little eatery twice in one visit when Mom was last here. And we returned yet again for this recent visit. Needless to say, we both love it. Charlie's Pantry is a European-styled, breakfast and lunch cafe. There are plentiful foreign drinks and confections, as well as freshly made food every day.

Mom and I could easily share one of their sandwiches. So we did, and got two sides.

We chose "The Milano" sandwich, a lightly breaded (organic) chicken cutlet on Ciabatta bread with lettuce, roasted red peppers, provolone cheese and a tasty smoked paprika mayo.

Great! And just a little kickin'! Yup, there was a slight spice in that paprika mayo. The sandwich was a bit messy and tough to eat, but the flavor was awesome nonetheless.

For our first side, some Balsamic Brussels sprouts.

Browned and cooked to perfection. I love a good sprout of Brussels, but these were tremendous. Incredibly flavorful, tangy, and even a few crispy bits. The good stuff ;)

The second side was a grilled veggie mixture with peppers, onions, zucchini and squash.

Super yummy as well. I couldn't decide which of the sides was my favorite. It's a good thing we shared!

OH, and I've discovered this natural soda I've not yet tried before!

Bombastic. I want to buy a truck of them.

So, the only bad thing about CP is that I can only go when Mom visits, haha. Meaning...it's a teeny bit on the pricy side and doesn't quite fit into a frugal lunching budget. But a really great experience of an eatery in any case, rare or frequent!

I look forward to my next parental visit so I may return to the Pantry!

Happy Eatings,
The Lone Foodster

P.S. I've plenty more posts a-comin'! Please come back soon.

Recipe #19: "Ridiculously Easy" Potato Chips

HI!!

A little enthusiastic, there. Sorry about that. It's just been quite a while since my 50th post special about Piccolo Venice.

And I'm back!

With a super-simple recipe for a healthy, crunchy snack. Let's begin.

Now, I apologize, because I'm afraid this particular recipe only benefits those with a George Forman-type grill appliance, which is what I used. If you have a panini press, or similar, it will work best.

Items Needed:

- 1 Russet potato
- A few tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Panini press or similar grill
- Bowl with a lid

*Plug in your grill first, so it's heating while you prep the potatoes*

1. Slice your potato into very VERY thin slices, as pictured:

2. Put your olive oil, salt, and pepper at the bottom of your bowl.

3. Throw your potato slices into the bowl, cover with lid, and toss to coat the slices thoroughly.

4. Arrange your seasoned slices on the hot grill, and close the lid. Let the slices cook about ten minutes, then flip them. Continue to flip every five minutes or so.

The slices will take about 15-20 minutes to crisp. Take them off the grill when they look like this:

And you're done! Sprinkle a pinch more of salt or pepper if you've lost some while cooking.

How ridiculously easy was that?

Come back soon for another of my oh-so-fun food truck pilgrimages. See you next time!

Happy Eatings,
The Lone Foodster

*50th POST SPECIAL!* Pilgrimage #22: Piccolo Venice a.k.a. DineLA Dinner

Long post title, yes?

WELCOME, FOODSTER FOLLOWERS!! The all caps are being brought out today to celebrate The Lone Foodster's 50th post!

And what better way to celebrate such an occasion, than with another very special occasion - a very special, very lovely dinner, courtesy of the winter DineLA event...a truly memorable meal at Piccolo, of Venice, CA.

Site: http://piccolovenice.com/


Piccolo Venice offered a five course meal for their DineLA menu. I was lucky enough to enjoy the evening with two friends, whom we'll call Miss Kat and Miss Mo.

We each vowed to get different dishes, in order to share what we could, therefore getting a taste of all the limited menu had to offer.

We began, of course, with wine. *Not included in the DineLA menu, unfortunately. But it added to the meal, and we sipped on our generous one-glass servings all evening.

What WAS free, and exceptional, was the bread. Several varieties, with a quality olive oil. A good start, indeed.

FIRST COURSE:

I chose a dangerous little culinary morsel I have been dancing around trying for years. I speak, yes, of "Lingua," more commonly known as tongue. Beef tongue, in this case, slow grilled.

It came with four sauces - parsley pesto, garlic, red pepper, and tuna pastes. With a side of coarse salt and flavorful pepper.

 

YES. I have tasted and loved! Turns out beef tongue is quite tender, to the point of being buttery. My favorite of the sauces was the red pepper. Just slightly spicy. Second was the parsley pesto. Lighter and more subtle than traditional basil.

Miss Kat chose the "Capesante," seared sea scallop with truffle fondue.

WOW. I am one lucky dining companion to have tasted this treat. A perfectly cooked scallop, lightly browned, with a rich, creamy, truffle-y streak of fondue. Very good.

Miss Mo went for the "Capesante," a layered glass of heirloom tomatoes, burrata, basil, and olive oil. Served with light, crispy crostini.

So blurry! Sorry...

Yum. So light, and refreshing! Practically a salad. The cooling tomato, basil, and burrata was a unique take on the traditional caprese salad.

SECOND COURSE:

I have always been a fan of gnocchi. Traditionally, a round potato dumpling. So of course my second course choice was the "Gnocchi," with lobster sugo, roasted garlic oil, and thyme.

Sooo rich. Very rich, but somehow light at the same time. Gnocchi tends to be dense, but this one was really pillow-y, and practically melted upon eating. The sauce was pleasant with just enough lobster bits.

Miss Kat decided upon the "Garganelli," a braised rabbit ragu with spices and white wine.

Nice! Amazing that the pasta held so much flavor while being absent of a sauce. The rabbit came through strongly, and the wine flavor was throughout.

And Miss Mo went with (what I almost chose) the "Spaghettini," a slow-roasted ox-tail ragu and pasta.

Ox-tail is another culinary morsel I've always wanted to try, and it was pretty satisfying! A meaty, tomato-y ragu atop spaghetti noodles. Very tender, just like the lingua, and very hearty. Much like any traditional ragu.

THIRD COURSE:

There was only one option on the menu for course #3 - "Plin," fontina filled ravioli with a Parmesan butter sauce, and fresh truffle shavings. Yes. Truffle.

I admit to never having fresh truffle anything. Just its precious oil. But this, ohh, THIS. I could have died then and been happy. So happy.

The ravioli popped open easily upon eating, treating the taste buds to creamy fontina cheese encased in dense pasta with a rich buttery sauce, and the truffle slices melted into pure flavor.

So far, it was the highlight of the meal.

FOURTH COURSE:

Now, here's were the blessed mistake happened. At the beginning of the meal, I chose the "Rana," Mediterranean monkfish wrapped in Tuscan kale with risoto and Cinzano cream.

Miss Kat chose the "Tagliata," seared Kobe beef steak with lemon-thyme pesto, polenta, and micro greens.

The servers, however, brought out TWO Kobe steak dishes. I kindly told them I had chosen the monkfish, and they profusely apologized, intending to bring it out right away. The blessed part is - that they insisted we keep the extra Kobe, in addition to the monkfish.

Piccolo servers, you handled this brilliantly.

I intently told them it was not a problem, and if the fish wasn't already cooked, don't worry about it. I would love the Kobe, I'm sure. But, true to their word, they brought the fish. And we had some extra steak. Thank you, Piccolo :)

So here's the dishes

Kobe:

And monkfish:

Tasting both the dishes, the steak was very good, as expected. Perfectly cooked, and buttery. But...I was far more impressed with the fish! In fact, it was probably my favorite dish of the evening, next to the Plin.

The monkfish was lightly seasoned, hard-to-describe delicious! And you all KNOW how I am a big fan of kale. The kale wrapping was a peerrrrfect accompaniment to the tasty fish, and the risoto in Cinzano cream finished it off nicely.

Miss Mo chose another meat dish, "Vitello," a roasted veal skirt with mushrooms, zucchinni, and a reduction. It also came with a grey-colored side we all agreed was some sort of starch, but couldn't quite figure it out, since the menu didn't list it.

We all decided this was the second best to the fish. The veal was nicely seasoned, not overbearing, and went well with the veggie sides. Even the mystery one! (which was probably potato).

FIFTH COURSE a.k.a. DESSERT!:

I thought I wanted the "Panna," white peach panna cotta with pistachio and bourbon caramel...but Miss Mo ordered it first.

I almost got the "Tortino," ricotta and mascarpone tortes with saffron coulis...then Miss Kat claimed it.

So, I rushed to make a split-second decision and settled on the "Bicchierino," mascarpone cream and chocolate ganache.

And guess what? I won! Haa. That is, I ended up loving my choice the most! The panna was good, but a little bland without the caramel and pistachio, which was probably the intention. The tortino was bright and citrus-y, unexpected!

But still, I preferred my ganache, a thick, deep chocolate layer with a hint of espresso, topped with a fluffy layer of air-light mascarpone. Served in a chilled glass on a dark plate.

All in all, a fantastic meal. An experience made better by great company...and a toasty warm restaurant, because it was freezing in Venice Beach tonight!

I didn't want to be a rude diner, so I refrained from snapping pics of the lovely interior like a tourist. But it is that, just lovely. It's warm (feeling, not temperature!), cozy, very Italian, and welcoming. The staff was attentive and kind to us from the moment we entered. Our reservation was on time and we weren't rushed to leave, despite the busy room full of other DineLA participants.

Carnivale!

This was truly a meal to remember! I do hope I get another chance to spend a special occasion at Piccolo Venice. It was great to make it my 50th post.

Thank you, all my readers. For your shares, and "likes," and loyalty. Please continue to come back, as I plan to make the next 50 and beyond a delicious experience for you all.

Happy Eatings,
The Lone Foodster