Beef Bulgogi - Korean BBQ Staple

Bulgogi is a Korean dish consisting of thin slices of meat grilled over an open fire.

 Slice the beef sirloin into thin cuts, discarding any excessive fat.

What you'll need:

Knife

Large mixing bowl

Grill or Fry pan

Ingredients:

2 lbs Beef sirloin (sliced thin)

1/4 Cup Soy Sauce

1/4 Cup Mirin

1/8 Cup Sesame Oil

3  Garlic cloves diced

1 Asian Pear diced

2 Tbs Sugar

1 Tbs Toasted Sesame Seeds

1 bunch Green Onion - 1 inch slices & 1/4 cup diced

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients except the diced green onion and the beef in a large mixing bowl.

Add beef to mixture, cover and let stand at room temperature for 30 min - up to 8 hours if refrigerated.  

Heat grill or Frying pan. 

Cook for 10 minutes - tossing to heat evenly. Top with diced Green Onion. 

Serve hot with rice, kimchi and banchan (Korean side dishes) - enjoy!

Basted and Seared New York Strip Steak

Give steak a liberal rub of seasoning and let stand at room temperature for half an hour.

Rub: Tbsp each of salt, pepper and paprika.

Thick New York Strip or Top Sirloin work best.

Pair with yellow and purple fingerling potatoes tossed in a cast iron skillet with fresh oregano and Spanish onions to add a nice earthy flavor.

Sauté garlic and fresh thyme in butter. Once the butter has browned, add the steak and sear both sides in the hot pan.

2 - 4 cloves of garlic, 4 sprigs of Thyme, 2 Tbs butter.

Sear about 2 minutes each side on medium-high heat.

Render fat by placing fatty edge down, resting steak against side of pan. 

Continue to flip the steak and baste by pouring hot butter mixture over the top. Turn down heat if butter starts to smoke.

About 10 minutes will get the steak medium-rare.

Let rest for a couple minutes so the steak stays juicy.

Slice, serve and enjoy!

Los Angeles' Best Italian Deli

Los Angeles is known for many things: awesome weather, beautiful beaches, Hollywood movies, and a fantastic food scene.

Nearly 100 years after opening doors on the corner of Lincoln and Broadway in Santa Monica, Bay Cities is still turning out unforgettable meals. The no frills store-front opens into an unassuming grocery store flanked by a full service deli and olive bar. Upon deeper investigation, an appreciation of the finely curated items stocking the shelves comes to fruition - Limited Release Virgin Olive Oils and aged Balsamic Vinegars sit along side a worldly traveled cheese selection. The back room is stocked with an exquisite liquor selection, and an assortment of hard to find service and preparation utensils round out the shopping experience.

The refined selection of take home ingredients is emulated by the in-house creations. salads and desserts made daily line the refrigerator, as the kitchen turns out award worthy lasagna, meatballs, ravioli and an inspirational bread that is baked continuously throughout the day. The crisp crust encasing the fluffy interior is served as an enhancing side to the precisely executed pasta options or as the vessel for the renowned sandwiches.

Speaking of sandwiches, the most highly regarded Bay Cities fare is the Godmother - and for good reason. The Italian roll layered with savory Genoa Salami, Mortadella Cappacola, Ham and Prosciutto are complimented perfectly by the crunch of "The Works" (mayo, mustard, pickles, onions, lettuce, Italian dressing and choice of hot or mild peppers).

If the Godmother is the star of cold sandwiches, then the Chicken Parmesan is King of hot sandwiches. The breaded chicken is moist and enhanced by the marinara sauce, peppers and cheese; all perfectly balanced by the sweetness of the Italian roll. Much like the Godmother being the measuring stick for Italian Subs, this chicken parmesan is the pinnacle all chicken parmesan sandwiches should be judged against.

Place your order online here to avoid the 45 min lunch line

Enjoy!

Beautiful Belize

For two weeks we explored the coast, island hopped and braved the jungles of Belize. We fished naked from our private dock, swam with sharks and toasted Belikins with Howler Monkeys on Mayan Ruins along the Guatemalan border.

The food varied vastly across the small country with the exception of the staple, rice & beans or beans & rice - yes there is a difference. However, the best meal of the whole trip was an Italian feast on Christmas Day at Blancaneaux Lodge - cheese from the local Mennonites, herbs and vegetables fresh from the garden all paired with Coppola's award winning wines on a veranda over looking the grounds.

Sunrise From Bird Island 

 After the Storm

Bird Island  - book here

 Sleeping Giants - book here

Coracoal Mayan Archeological site 

Five Sisters Falls outside Gaia River Lodge

Breakfast Avocado Bowl

When a food comes with it's own bowl, like the avocado does - use it!

Split the avocado lengthwise for equal haves to make breakfast for 2. 

Use whole eggs for richer flavor or egg whites if you are calorie conscious.

What you'll need:

Mixing bowl

Medium fry pan

Cutting board from Leelanau Wave

Ingredients:

 Eggs - 1 or 2 per person
 Red Pepper  1/2 pepper chopped
 Orange Pepper - 1/2 pepper chopped
 Asparagus - 6 stalks chopped
 Tomato - chopped and seeded
 Avocado - Split in half and seeded
 Butter - 1 Tbs
 Salt
 Pepper

Directions:

Melt butter in medium fry pan. Scramble eggs in bowl and set aside.

Add salt and pepper to butter, then add the hard veggies, Peppers & Asparagus. Once they soften, add
the tomato and eggs.

Fill the avocado cavity left by the large seed with the mixture of eggs and veggies.

Enjoy!

Coconut Chicken with Lemon

Cooking with Coconut Oil adds a hint of sweetness without being overpowering, it is also considered a good fat as opposed to other sweeteners and refined sugars.

What you'll need:

Baking Dish

Cutting Board

Ingredients:

 Chicken - boneless skinless breast 1Lb

 Meyer Lemons - 1/4 Cup

 Onion - 1/4 Cup

 Coconut Oil - 2 Tbs

 Black Sesame Seeds - 1 Tbs

 Salt & Pepper - pinch

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°

Generously rub chicken with Coconut Oil, place in baking dish.  Add salt, pepper, onions, Lemons, Sesame Seeds.

Bake covered for 30 minutes, uncover and bake for additional 20 min.

Serve with veggies and rice or quinoa. 

 Enjoy!

Grilling a Perfect Burger

Nothing says summer like smoke rolling from a grill, the crackle of charcoal and the aroma of beef searing over an open flame.  Inspired by Stout Burger being the Best Burger in Los Angeles I christened the grill for the season in order to make my own. 

Gas grills make for a nice controlled cooking surface with easy clean up, but you miss out on the smokiness and antiquities of the smoldering charcoal fire. I prefer the hardwood lump coals with a little lighter fluid as opposed to the pre-soaked briskets for a couple reasons. 

- 1 the flavor is more natural and earthy than manufactured. 

- 2 the coals can be arranged to create temperature zones around the grill.

- 3 the natural lump coals burn cleaner, creating less residual ash.

What you'll need:

Grill

Small fry pan

Ingredients:

  Ground beef 90/10 - 1 lb
  Olive Oil - 2 Tbs
  Red Onion - cut in rings
  Mustard - 2 Tbs
  Horseradish sauce - 2 Tbs
  Blue Cheese - 2 Tbs
  Butter - 2 Tbs
  Tomato - sliced 
  Kaiser roll - cut in half

Directions:

Get the grill started by building a pyramid of coals. Fire needs oxygen so make sure there is room for air to flow around the coals. If you are using a gas grill, set it to medium-high heat. If you are using charcoal, leave room around the perimeter of the grill in order to move the burgers around the center of high heat - you could also use a large lump of coal to shield the adjacent spot on the grill to create a lower heat spot.  

Salt and pepper the ground beef and splash with a tablespoon of olive oil. Patty the burgers into three 1/3lb burgers or 4 1/4lb burgers. Add a dash more salt and pepper to the patty's and drop them on the grill. 

Heat up a small skillet with a tablespoon of butter and brown some fresh ground pepper.

After 2 minutes turn the burgers 45 degrees keeping the same side down, this will help evenly distribute the heat. Give them another 2 minutes then flip and repeat the quartering process.

Add onions to pan to break them down.

Now the burgers have been on for eight minutes, I say flip them once more to drain the juice back through the patty for another minute for medium rare, longer for less pink. Flip every couple of minutes to keep from drying out if you are going for the well done version.

Toast bun internal side down for a minute - check regularly as the bread heats up fast.

Add Mustard, Horseradish and blue cheese to pan, remove from heat and toss to coat.

Set burger aside to rest for a couple minutes topped with the onion mixture. 

Add tomatoes to onion pan and return to medium low heat.



Put it all together and enjoy!

Best Burger in Los Angeles

There are a lot of claims for the best this or the best that in Los Angeles. Like the best way to get to Hollywood from the westside; or the best actor in a drama series. Those waiver and vary day-to-day, but Stout Burger and Beers is consistently the best burger in town!  Across the 3 locations; Hollywood, Studio City and Santa Monica, the flavors coming out of the kitchen are hands down the best around. The beef blend is ground in house to maintain the richness that is enhanced by the particular toppings not to be altered on any of the seven burger options. There are also a pair of ground chicken patty options and a pair of quinoa & bean veggie patty options created with equally tasteful care - all tailored to produce the highest quality, most exciting flavor  on a brioche bun.   

The pleasant and knowledge-able staff does not shy away from making suggestions off the accessibly intricate food menu. They are also more than happy to pour a sample or two from the precisely curated beer menu customized to enhance the meal. Each Stout location rotates thirty-some craft beers on tap, over a dozen bottles of beer and a growing wine list, meant to be explored. It's worth starting your meal with the oversized, soft pretzel and a beer while deciding which burger to choose.

The over-easy egg oozing from The Morning After envelopes the palette, while the fig jam on the Six Weeker commands the sweeter side of the taste spectrum in opposition to the spiciness of the SHU Burger. The Imperialist stands tall as the classic twist on the American cheese-burger with the nutty aged cheddar, roasted tomatoes and mustard relish; while the Truffle Shuffle exemplifies the earthy mushrooms through the smooth brie cheese. Smoked mozzarella, parmasiano  flakes and crispy prosciutto, finished with a refreshing lemon-basil aioli make the Goombah a close runner-up to the, name-sake star of the menu. The mouthwatering Stout Burger is crafted with both gruyere and blue cheese over rosemary bacon, caramelized onions and house-made horseradish cream. Did I already say mouthwatering?

Do yourself a favor and save some room for dessert, because Stout did not settle on just having the best burger in Los Angeles. No, the neighborhood burger and beer pub finishes the meal with a surprisingly decadent dessert in the bread pudding that is arguably the best on the west coast. The warm dessert masterpiece is marbled with caramel and chocolate chips - a perfect juxtaposition of crispy and soft; salty and sweet; and when served à la mode, hot and cold. 

Enjoy!