Seeing as I was admitted to the California Bar this past June (yay!), my headline no longer made sense.
“the daily intake of an aspiring lawyer” has now been happily changed to “the daily intake of a seasoned attorney”
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I’d never break a promise. The following is an overview of some of the best (and most interesting) eats I came across last summer in Spain, Switzerland and Italy.
Let’s start from the very beginning — breakfast! Which isn’t much of a “thing” in many European countries. Here’s what was delivered to me in my Geneva hotel room, which was very similar to the breakfast I received on the plane on the flight over:
A dinner roll. And some jam. A nice, minimalist approach to the first meal of the day… Even at cafés in Italy and Spain, you can’t get much more than coffee and croissant in the morning. I wouldn’t eat more than that anyway, but the dinner rolls made me giggle.
Madrid was my first stop. I fell in love with Spain in the summer of 2011, and couldn’t wait to go back. I didn’t enjoy Madrid as much as Málaga (but then again, Málaga is perfection), but I still loved my visit! One of my first destinations was Mercado de San Miguel- a beautiful outdoor(ish) marketplace with stunning displays of fresh produce, insane amounts of meat and seafood, wine tasting… basically the best (and nicest) farmer’s market you’ve ever been to.
I was staying with a friend in Madrid and she had me try all of the customary Spanish dishes, such as tortilla and jamón, but I particularly enjoyed patatas bravas and croquetas:
And those sauces on the patatas? Please and thank you!
After two days in Madrid, I made my way to Switzerland. After a quick stop in Geneva (boooring), I was off to Lausanne, a quaint, French-speaking city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva. I had a bit of trouble ordering food in Lausanne because I still don’t know a lick of French. Even when I tried my hand at a couple of phrases from my guidebook, most people still didn’t understand me. There was a lot of pointing involved, but it got me to this:
Fondue! And beer! It wasn’t the most amazing-tasting cheese dish I’ve ever had, but I would definitely try it again. I’ll have to save up though — Switzerland is VERY expensive, and this little pot of cheese was 26 Euro! But I guess the view was worth the money:
The next day I took a regional train to Château de Chillon, a wonderful 1,000-year-old castle near Montreux. The train ride was beautiful and followed the curve of Lake Geneva, whose shores are mostly vineyards:
I could not complain! At Château de Chillon I purchased a small bottle of wine that was fermented in the castle itself. The “dungeon” of the castle housed all of the barrels, and it smelled so lovely! I’ve yet to open the bottle — I’ll save it for a very special occasion! On my way back, I stopped at a lakeside restaurant in Montreux for some mushroom soup and a local glass of wine. The warm soup was much appreciated on that drizzly day!
Later that evening, back in Lausanne, I stopped in the marina where a sort-of food truck gathering was taking place. I wasn’t very hungry, but I still picked up this guy:
A wonderful, waffle-y treat!
And then, there’s Italy. Oh, Italy. Where to even begin. There is no such thing as a bad meal in Italy. The food is fresh. The food is perfect. The food is everything. Here are some of the highlights:
There’s the pizza, obviously. The picture above was taken in Siena — notice how little cheese!
A pizza from Bologna, complete with rocket and Parmigiano-Reggiano — my fave!
The gelato displays were so fun to see in the morning!
Of course I got in on the gelato action! I think this flavor was stracciatella.
And there’s affogato — espresso and gelato!
There was a beautiful outdoor market on our way to school at the Universitá di Bologna:
We stopped here most days for lunch — picking up fruits, cheeses, meats… all fresh!
Christine buying us lunch!
The markets and bodegas in Bologna were also wonderful. We often just went in to look:
Above, one of the oldest cheese shops in Bologna (or maybe the oldest?). My friends and I ate most of our meals family style — everyone wanted to try everything, so we all shared. It worked out quite nicely.
Ragù alla bolognese, Bologna’s prized dish:
As you can see, we hated it 😉
There was always bruschetta on the table, and I discovered the wonderful dish that is white bean bruschetta in Florence — so yummy!
An eclectic bruschetta I ordered in Rimini:
Last, but not least, the wine. So. Much. Vino. The picture below was taken an old (really old) wine bar. There wasn’t even a bathroom at this establishment — just a hole in the ground. I held it.
My loot from wine tasting in Tuscany:
Some moldy loot that never sold:
All in all, it was a wonderful trip filled with wonderful friends, wonderful sights and wonderful FOOD (and drink!) — I can’t wait to go back!
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This past week I went to Epicure Imports in North Hollywood with my office for one of their open warehouse sales. Epicure is only open to the public a few times a year, which is definitely not enough!
I picked up some sausage, amaretto cookies, dark chocolate from the Caribbean, tapenade, a fresh baguette, balsamic from Modena, etc. etc. One of my most exciting finds was a cheese similar to Parmigiano Reggiano called Grana Padano (it’s not from Parma, hence its required name change). It tastes similar, however, and I actually took a picture of some fresh Grana Padano at a market in Bologna this past summer!
The prices were amazing (obviously, it’s a wholesaler)- everything was under $10.00, most items being around $5.00 (and a lot of the everyday items like pasta and cookies were like, $3.00. Seriously!). My loot:
A close-up of the tapenade on the baguette:
Needless to say, I spent Friday night enjoying the fruits of my labor (I went with my office, it was work-related and very serious, I promise…) and watching Ratatouille, which we all know is one of my favorite movies!
Je me sentais presque comme si j’étais de retour en Europe.
Feast your eyes on the best cookbook to have ever graced the shelves of Barnes & Noble. That’s right- I bought it at a bookstore! Archaic, I know. I initially went into the store only to use the restroom (as my friend Christine and I accidentally had a sangria-drinking lunch instead of a responsible adult lunch…), but I spotted this little jewel in a heap of dull cookbooks on a messy display table on the way to the ladies’ room. As soon as I read the Table of Contents, I was in love. Recipes from all of my favorite Santa Barbara restaurants in one book! Featuring the Warm Pesto Sautéed Bay Scallop Salad from Opal (had it, loved it, will have it again), Steamed Black Mussels from The Shellfish Company (my brother and I’s personal favorite) and Créme Brûlée from Jane (which I’ve never had- but I did get free ice cream from them on Valentine’s Day one year…), I am simply in culinary heaven. I will be certain to post my Santa Barbara Chef’s Table fare on the legaldiet very soon!
Home.
Soon to come: An overview of the food I ate in Europe this summer, featuring dishes from Spain, Switzerland and Italy. Once I unpack my new apartment, which is currently a mess!
Hello, Internet!
I made good on my promise to try and make the birthday cake jello shots I previously featured from Sweet Tooth for my small birthday get-together! Huge snafoo: I couldn’t find plain gelatin. So instead, I used 2 packets of cherry gelatin, which made the tiny cupcakes INCREDIBLY sweet- and almost too hard to eat. Boo. They weren’t totally horrible, though. And let’s face it- after a few drinks it didn’t matter anyway!
Also, I couldn’t find a mini cupcake mold so I used a candy mold. It worked for the most part, but they turned out a little smaller than had they been set in a mini cupcake mold.
Birthday Cake Jello Shots
2/3 cup cream soda
2/3 cup cranberry juice cocktail
1 tbsp heavy cream
2 envelopes plain gelatin
2/3 cup cake-flavored vodka (I was very generous here)
Whipped cream
Sprinkles
Lightly spray the mold with non-stick spray and wipe excess off with a paper towel. Pour the soda, juice, and cream into a medium saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Allow the gelatin to soak for 2-3 minutes, then begin to heat on low, stirring constantly until gelatin is fully dissolved (about 5 minutes). Remove saucepan from heat and add vodka (mmm). Pour into molds and chill for several hours, or until set. Remove from mold, top with whipped cream, and enjoy!
Luckily I enlisted my roommate to make regular jello shooters (just jello, vodka and water) and those turned out excellent! So we had a backup!
Yummy!
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I recently made “winter sangria” for a small dinner party my boyfriend and I hosted. I’m not sure what makes it wintery, but the taste of cinnamon did remind me of the holidays. We couldn’t find cinnamon sticks- Trader Joe’s was a mad house (of course), but I’m not sure they even carried them. We just used a little bit of ground cinnamon and it still tasted wonderful!
Winter Sangria
2 cups no-pulp orange juice
3 to 6 ounces orange liqueur
2 tablespoons honey
1 cinnamon stick
2 clementines or blood oranges, cut into sections
1 Granny Smith or other tart apple, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 red Anjou pear, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 liters sweet sparkling red wine, chilled (Sunny likes Rosa Regale)
1 liter lemon-lime soda, chilled
In a large pitcher or punch bowl, whisk the orange juice, orange liqueur and honey. Add the cinnamon stick, clementines, apple and pear and stir to combine. Set aside at room temperature for at least 1 hour. I put it in the refrigerator to sit, oops.
Right before serving, add the wine and soda to the fruit mixture and stir gently to combine. Serve immediately in ice-filled glasses.
I made these lovelies at Thanksgiving, but I was so busy with finals and intersession that I am just sitting down to write about them now! I wanted to add something new and exciting to our normal Thanksgiving routine, so I picked this recipe out of Food & Wine to try. I had never made any type of biscuit before, and was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to get the dough right, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well they turned out- my family was impressed, too! Also, I still don’t know what sorghum butter is?
sor·ghum/ˈsôrgəm/
Noun:
1. A widely cultivated cereal (genus Sorghum) native to warm regions of the Old World. (Old World?) It is a major source of grain and of feed for livestock.
2. A syrupy sweetener made from a type of this cereal.
Ok… But the recipe said that you can use pure maple syrup instead of sorghum syrup, so I didn’t that instead!
Biscuits
1/2 pound sliced bacon
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Butter
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons sorghum syrup or pure maple syrup
Salt
Preheat the oven to 425°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large skillet, cook the bacon over moderate heat until crisp, about 7 minutes. Drain the bacon on paper towels and finely chop it. Ya, I definitely made the bacon in the microwave. It’s the 21st Century.
In a large bowl, whisk the 4 1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder, sugar, kosher salt and baking soda. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until it is the size of small peas. I didn’t even know what a pastry blender was, and my mom tried to draw one on a Post-It for me but I still had never seen one. So I “cut” the the butter with a regular wooden spoon. About this time I was getting a little nervous that they weren’t going to turn out…
Stir in the buttermilk, scallions and chopped bacon just until incorporated. Scrape the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead it gently just until it comes together. … and it did come together! No pastry blender necessary (although my mom did get me one for Christmas after this incident, har har…)
Using a floured rolling pin, roll the biscuit dough out to a 1/2-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch round biscuit cutter, stamp out 16 rounds of dough. No biscuit cutter, used a glass cup.
Gently gather the scraps to form 2 or 3 more biscuits. Place the biscuits on the baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes, until they are well-risen and golden brown; turn the baking sheet once halfway through baking.
In a small bowl, thoroughly blend the unsalted butter with the maple syrup and season with salt.
Serve the bacon-scallion biscuits warm with the sorghum butter.
Look at these tiny masterpieces. (This picture is not an endorsement for Lay’s potato chips). THEY WERE SO GOOD. And the maple syrup butter, oh em gee, phenom. I am going to make it more often- it’s sweet and salty and tastes like pancakes. It went so wonderful with the bacon-scallion biscuits.
I also sauteed some shallots in a white wine sauce to eat with my turkey. My family thought I was crazy. I don’t care. I love shallots. Shally shally shallots. I love shallots.
Brava! Happy Thanksgiving!
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/bacon-scallion-biscuits-with-sorghum-butter
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1. I wish my food blog looked like this. Tears.
2. OHMYGOD I AM MAKING THESE FOR MY BIRTHDAY NEXT MONTH. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME.
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I’m no baker. I can barely turn out a good batch of cookies. I’m also not the world’s biggest biggest hockey fan. Unless you’re watching the game in HD, you can’t tell where the puck is. So it may come as a surprise that I made this:
A Los Angeles Kings birthday cake!
If you know anything about me, you know that I love wedding shows (and House Hunters, which I’m watching now, but we’ll save that story for another day). Sundays are devoted to WE tv’s Wedding Sundays whenever possible. I’ve seen every episode Amazing Wedding Cakes, Ace of Cakes, D.C. Cupcakes- you name it, I watch it. So naturally I’ve always wanted to try my hand at making a fondant cake- it looks so easy on TV! Spoiler Alert: It’s not easy. I will not be starring in my own bakery show on TLC anytime in the near future.
My boyfriend loves the LA Kings like I love John Mayer (which is like woah, scary), so I resolved to make him an LA Kings hockey puck cake for his 26th birthday. Here’s what I had to work with:
Most of the frosting and materials were purchased from Michael’s, and I was so excited that the fondant came in black! I was afraid I was going to have to try and dye it with food coloring or paint it with an edible material- it was a definite plus that I didn’t have to deal with that disaster. I chose to bake the cake at my parents (you know my Super Oven), and Little Chef was with me to provide moral support:
Baking the cake was the easy part, and I tried to make the frosting as close to a royal purple as I could (eh, not so great). I also put my boyfriend’s name in sprinkles in the middle of the cake- my little secret!
Next I rolled out the fondant, which came in the tub pictured above. After heating it up in the microwave for ~45 seconds (the instructions cautioned against making it to warm), it looked like this:
A big, hard lump. Ugh. I covered the rolling pin in powdered sugar to prevent the fondant from sticking to it, but that only sort-of worked. It took awhile to get it to a nice thin consistency that would cover the whole cake:
And voila! The start of my hockey puck. It was so hard to neatly fit the fondant around the cake, and there were areas where I had to fold it over on itself (if that makes sense)- it wasn’t a perfect fit. After covering the cake, I worked on the decorations for the top, which included the King’s crown logo..
Ya, I’m no artist. Here’s the final product (after I spray painted it with silver edible spray paint from Michael’s):
Hey, I tried. I affixed the crown to the hockey puck and decorated the rest with gel frosting. The purple frosting tube, however, had to be softened in boiling water before being able to use it (What? I should have read the package more closely in the store), which was such a pain. When it was soft enough to use it was hot and runny, but if I waited until it cooled it wouldn’t come out of the tube because it wasn’t soft enough! Ugh! So runny purple frosting it was.
I had started to write “Happy Birthday” where the “NHL” square is but I totally messed up and it wasn’t cute, so I covered it with the off-centered square and fit in a “HBD Tim” on the side.
My mom though the white portion in the middle of the crown resembled go-go boots (ya, I guess I see it). Randomly Michael’s also had purple, black and grey swirly candles! They matched perfectly.
After going to a few King’s games at Staples Center, I have to admit I’m kind of starting to like hockey… I didn’t really understand why fans would get so excited when players fight, but deep down I think I do want to see Dustin Brown knock the lights out of someone on the ice. Look, I’m growing. Happy Birthday, Tim!
Go Kings Go!
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legaldiet 