All you need to know about a really good espresso

One of the sad stories in the L.A. culinary world is the espresso. Better: the absence of a really good espresso. It just seems to be inexistent in this town. And unfortunately, since there is no real understanding of what an outstanding espresso is all about, no one really notices. Or complains. But that's what I am here for...

Espresso is more than just coffee. First of all, you have to understand the important distinction between 'brewing' coffee and 'extracting espresso'. An espresso is just a couple of sips of deep-brown extracted liquid (actually an emulsion since it contains oil from the beans) served in a very tiny cup, not bitter-tasting, but rich, complex and lingering on your tastebuds for a couple of minutes. How many bitter or burnt-tasting espresso (espressi in italian) did my palate have to endure? I am better not counting...

So, what makes a good espresso?

1. There is no way you can make a good espresso unless you start with good coffee beans correctly roasted and packed. The best coffee for espresso is made from Arabica beans, and I stress Arabica ONLY! Forget about the stuff from Starbuck's, Peet's or any other supermarket brand, go for a specialty brand like Illy. 

2. Perfectly roasted coffee beans, and that doesn't mean super dark-roasted! A very dark roast only destroys the subtle flavors. Medium-roasted coffee beans, stored at room temperature in a dark, airtight container, are the secret. Humidity, light and oxygen are BIG enemies of coffee.

3. What many people ignore is the importance of grinding. A good, fine grinding is crucial for a good espresso. An inexpensive non-professional grinder will burn and therefore ruin the coffee beans. Unfortunately many professionals use a cheap, bean-burning grinder. The whole grinding stuff is tricky: if the ground is too fine the water can't get through, but if it's too coarse, the water will flow through too quickly. It needs to be just right.

4. You can't make good coffee without the right water. It has to be low in calcium, magnesium or other minerals that not only inhibit the pressure of the pipes in the espresso machine after a while, but will affect the taste too. 

5. To make the perfect espresso, only little (max 7 gr) of coffee should be used, and it needs to be tamped using up to 15 kg of pressure.

6. A perfect espresso should take 20-25 seconds to extract under 8.8 atmospheres of pressure. Don't call me a nerd - the pressure is very important and should be checked constantly. A thick, creamy hazelnut brown top, the so called crema, should cover the espresso protecting a perfectly balanced taste of sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami and display aromas of chocolate, butter, puff pastry and more. 

Now that you know what a good espresso is all about, go out there and DEMAND it.

STEVE'S FABULOUS DUCK BREASTS

Once again, I had the privilege of having been served a wonderful home-cooked meal prepared by our friend Steve in the cozy Silverlake cottage-style house he shares with his wife Danielle. Steve impressed me with the most amazing duck breast I had in a long time. Marinated in a herb-infused blood orange 'bath' and cooked to perfection, it was a very happy experience for my palate. And how refreshing to find, for once, something different than beef or chicken on my plate!


That's how he prepared the duck breasts (for 4 people):

Trim 4 breasts and place, skin side up, in a dish. Squeeze 
the juice of three or four blood oranges over them so the the meat underneath is immersed. Then zest the oranges over the  breasts, and sprinkle with a few fresh thyme leaves, and some chopped fresh rosemary. Let sit in the fridge for a few hours.

Spark up your grill. Drain the marinade. Season both sides with good-quality sea salt and fresh-cracked pepper (especially the skin). When the coals are red but not too hot, place the breasts, with the skin side down on the grill. Let the skin brown and crisp up, but try not to get them too close to the heat -- you don't want them to blacken. Don't be afraid to move the breasts around, since there's a lot of fat in the skin that will cause the flames to leap up.

Cook about 6-7 minutes on both sides. Remove and let rest for at least five minutes.

Steve served the duck breasts with vegetables braised in olive oil. 


Thanks for sharing, Steve!

BREAKFAST AT THE SPORTSMEN'S LODGE, SHERMAN OAKS

Lured by the nice looking makeover at the Sportsmen's Lodge, favorite hangout of Hollywood and Rock'n'Roll celebrities in the 60s and 70s, I decided to pack my husband in the car and treat him with a Sunday breakfast at the Lodge's Patio Café. I have to admit that I have a fondness for rustic, dated decor, and with the few, recently added touch-ups, the Sherman Oaks legend looked quite appealing and in no way uncomfortably overdone. The place keeps true to his values, you could say. My first order of a freshly squeezed orange juice quickly uncovered a misunderstanding: I thought that the staff would squeeze fresh oranges in the kitchen, but was proven wrong at the first sip. When asked, the waiter insisted on 'freshly squeezed', informing me that this was what the package said, while laughing at the absurdity that they actually would do something like cutting oranges in half and SQUEEZING them. Well, I learnt my lesson. Then we ordered Eggs Benedict and Huevos Rancheros. The kitchen's philosophy of using pre-pepared, packaged OJ translated into their food as well, I could taste and smell artificial flavors and the distinct metallic taste of canned food all over the dishes. The worst being the almost inedible, tough ham and a super dry, strange tasting biscuit under the eggs benedict. Well guys, you lost me there. I will happily go back to the Sportsmen's Lodge for drinks at the bar enjoying the charms of the good old days, but for food? No thank you. Not for me.

LARCHMONT BUNGALOW - A HOME AWAY FROM HOME

I haven't been in the Larchmont area for quite some time, which is a shame, since Larchmont Boulevard is such a charming place with lots of nice shops, restaurants and cafés. LARCHMONT BUNGALOW artisan café embodies the neat small-town feel –  it's so cozy you feel right at home. They serve breakfast all day long and fancy classic American fare such as Mini Burger Sliders, Bison Chilli Burgers, Lobster Crab Cake Sandwich,  Southern Fried Chicken Wrap, and the famous Red Velvet Pancakes. It's all fresh and really good. At LB they offer their own blends of organic, sustainable coffee as well as single origin roasts of exceptional good quality and teas that are custom crafted. I was happy to discover a lovely outdoor space with lots of tables and enjoyed some warming winter sun rays along with a long chat with a friend.

Food that makes me happy

When my friend Richard, a food scout for one of the best delicatessen stores in Europe, toured California in search for the best products the Golden State has to offer, he came back to my house his car loaded with delicacies. While all the treasuries were blissfully good, I especially fell in love with the preserves made by Happy Girl Kitchen in Pacific Grove near Monterey. Good heavens! How could I ever live without the pickled spicy carrots, classic dills or the apricot summer jam, which I swear, is the best I had in my life. And I don't say this lightly. Of course, I was miserable when I looked at all those empty jars after splurging on their content. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the Happy Girl Kitchen Products in Los Angeles. Until now. The Marketplace at 'Sweet Butter Kitchen' in Sherman Oaks has stocked up their shelves with tomato preserves, and Leslie, the owner, promised to order the pickles and jams in the new year, too. Thank you, Leslie!

Ottolenghi - simply delicious

One of my favorite cookbook discoveries in 2010 was Ottolenghi The Cookbook. Ottolenghi is the iconic London-based restaurant run by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. Their simple yet inventive dishes are inspired by their respective childhoods in West and East Jerusalem, and they draw from culinary traditions ranging from Persia to California.

Today I prepared their aubergine*-wrapped ricotta gnocchi with sage butter. A great dish for a California winter evening:

1 small to medium aubergine

4 tbsp olive oil

20 g unsalted butter, melted

15 g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Ricotta Gnocchi

30 pine nuts

250 g ricotta cheese

2 free-range egg yolks

35 g plain flour

40 g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 tbsp chopped basil

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

a good grinding of black pepper

Sage Butter

90 g unsalted butter

20 sage leaves

a pinch of salt

1/2 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

1. Place the pine nuts in a small frying pan and dry-roast over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring them occasionally so they color evenly. Transfer to a large bowl and add the ricotta, egg yolks, flour, grated Parmesan, herbs, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir well, then cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 180 C. Trim the top and bottom off the aubergine and cut it lenghtways into 5 mm-tick slices; you will need 8-12 slices, depending on how many gnocchi you make. Lay the slices on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and brush liberally with the olive oil. Place in the oven and roast for 10-15 minutes, until tender and golden.

3. To shape the gnocchi, wet your hands and scoop out 40-50 g portions (about 3 tablespoons). Roll into 8 or 12 elongated barrel shapes. Meanwhile bring plenty of salted water to the boil in a large saucepan.

4. Carefully add a few dumplings to the simmering – don't cook them all at once or thy will stick to each other. After about 2 minutes, they should rise to the surface. Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a tea towel to drain. Pat dry with kitchen paper and brush them with the melted butter.

5. Once the gnocchi have cooled down, take a strip of the aubergine and wrap it around the center of each one, like a belt. Trim the aubergine so that the seam is at the bottom. Place the gnocchi in a greased ovenproof dish and set aside. You can cover them with cling film and keep them in the fridge a day at this stage.

6. When ready to serve sprinkle the gnocchi with the Parmesan and bake in the oven at 180 C for 8-10 minutes, until they are heated through.

7. Meanwhile, quickly make the sage butter sauce, as it needs to coincide with the gnocchi. Place a small saucepan over a moderate heat. Add the butter and allow it to simmer for a few minutes until it turns a light golden-brown color and has a nutty smell. Remove from the heat and carefully add the sage, salt and lemon juice, if using. Return to the heat for a few seconds to cook the sage lightly.

8. Divide the gnocchi between serving plates, pour the hot butter on top with a few sage leaves and serve immediately. 

Serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main course.

* aubergine = eggplant

convert heat, weight etc.

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ARTISANAL CHEESE HEAVEN

Lured by the concept of custom building your burger, I had lunch at The Counter in Pasadena last week. It was a horrible food experience, and I will never ever set my foot back in this place. But there was one wonderful thing about my visit at The Counter: while miserably munching on my burger, I discovered the Pasadena Cheese Store across the alley. Of course, I had to go over and check it out. O.M.G.! This recently opened cheese store on Shoppers Lane is cheese heaven. Move over Silverlake Cheese Store and Beverly Hills Cheese Store. It is now in Pasadena where they offer the absolutely best artisanal cheeses from the greatest cheese producing countries on the planet like France, Switzerland, Italy, England, Spain and also some great ones made here in the U.S. I was especially enchanted to discover Caroline Hostettler's selection from Switzerland. I have known Caroline for a very long time, and I can tell you that she has uncompromisingly high standards. Her cheeses are simply the best Swiss artisanal cheeses you can get. I spent a small, well spent fortune on Appenzeller Sélection Rolf Beeler, Fourme d'Ambert, Montbriac, Crottin de Chaignol and Tomme Crayeuse – all so good, it made me cry.