fly me to the moon.
walking into disco volante, a restaurant/bar/live music spot in downtown oakland, on a chilly february night, is like walking into a fabulous party where the lighting is dim, the music exotic yet familiar & the mood sexy & playful. it was a good night for a date, side-tie leather pants & a vintage fur.
some things i cannot pass up on a menu & chicken livers with toasts is one. the toasts, resting on a bed of arugula, come with a thick spread of liver pate & a ramekin of quince preserves. the combination of rich, creamy liver with the sweetness of quince & peppery greens is luscious. a salad of arugula with a sherry vinaigrette is simple & has a nice acidic kick. sounding too good to save for next time, i ordered the volante burger with aged white cheddar, pickled pepper mayonnaise & bacon jam. yes, bacon jam – piggy, salty, yummy-ness. the burger is so good – tender, not over-mixed, softly seasoned & cooked perfectly. it reminds me of the incredible burger at eccolo (which is no longer) and as it turns out, the chef is one and the same.
after a delicious dinner i sat at the table listening to a great live band & feeling grateful to live in oakland.
brown is beautiful.
word on the street in my living room is that i need to ramp up the whatiwore part of whaticookedwhatiwore. agreed. i would not say that the camera loves me – with good make-up & professional lighting it tolerates me – but i here i am.
i love brown. i am brown. i wear a lot of brown. almost everyday. i wear a lot of vintage & thrift store finds. the 70’s is my decade – the clothes, the music, the wood paneling.
things you won’t see me in – blazers – too conservative for me. and flats – it’s just not going to happen.
here i am coming home from work today…
sparkle sweater – love to love you
skirt – thrift
faux fur vest – zara
boots – guess
scarf – mamma’s closet
sunglasses – flea market
let’s get it started in here.
placemat art.
the boy had a dance performance tonight & it was the sweetest thing. we decided to go out afterwards to celebrate & the boy chose barlata, a great tapas spot that we frequently frequent. after a glass (or two) of the fruity & muy fuerte sangria, and being oh-so fortunate to have a kid with sophisticated food tastes, i left the ordering up to him: patatas bravas, morcilla (blood sausage), pulpo (octopus) & trinxat (chard puree).
morcilla.
barlata’s patatas are superlative – deep-fried cubes of crispy potato with aioli & a spoonful of kicky tomato sauce that give way to a steaming & creamy interior. the boy’s favorite is the morcilla. the rich sausage is deeply browned & the casing has a pleasant crunch; the inside of which is spicy & aromatic & especially lovely with the garlicy white beans & aioli served alongside. tender sliced pulpo is a revelation – served in a lata with fingerlings & plenty of pimenton ahumado. and i love the trinxat which is served in a mini-skillet type dish, baked & topped with crispy bits of pancetta.
barlata dishes up delicious (& dear-spanish-friend-from-madrid-approved) tapas & since the boy’s little brown fingers, jazz hands have never looked so good.
trinxat.
pulpo en lata.
eat here now.
there is a restaurant in oakland that is so perfect. as you make your way through the various dishes, each bite is more vibrant than the one before. every song that comes bumping through the speakers elicits an “i love this song!” there is dynamic street art on the walls, a glinty disco ball dangling from the ceiling & everyone seems jazzed to be there. the restaurant is hawker fare & it might be my most favorite place to eat. i am slowly making my way through the menu, having never ordered the same thing twice, & have not been let down.
green papaya salad.
hawker fare serves dishes based on southeast asian street food. there are six options from the “snack aisle”, seven “rice bowls” & a few “extras”. i enjoyed the sticky siamese peanuts & the nicely chewy beef larb but the blistered green beans & the green papaya salad were both incredible. the beans were complex & gooey with a salty bacon-y bite & the papaya salad was crunchy & refreshing with a spicy kick. i’ve tried four of the rice bowls & always with the fresh farm egg on top (the way most people feel about bacon, i feel about a soft-cooked egg. & bacon). the 24-hour pork belly was meaty & gelatinous & rich. i also thoroughly enjoyed the issan sausage – casing-free chunks of deliciousness. my favorite however, was the shrimp curry special that is not on the regular menu – spicy, coconutty & complex with fresh coriander.
issan sausage.
shrimp curry
i have been reading rave reviews about “the sugar stall” – four desserts – & though i always welcome more sweetness into my days, i rarely leave room for dessert. next time i’ll keep my eyes on the coconut-rice-pudding-with-roasted-banana-jam & spiced-sesame-crumble prize. also sweetening the pot? menu prices top out at $9.50.
it’s better with bacon.
the first rainy day of the year is a perfect day to not get dressed. a grey day – cozy & reflective & sometimes a little melancholy – it is just the day to tuck into a deep bowl of luxurious, velvety pasta carbonara. this is one of my favorite go-to pastas when i am craving comfort & would rather spend the evening watching a movie on the orange couch with my boy than tending pots alone in the kitchen. another thing is that i usually have all of the ingredients on hand & if not, i have suitable substitutions. most recently i made it with turkey bacon in lieu of bacon bacon & goose fat because i could. and because, while true that pretty much everything is better with bacon, goose fat is sitting right there beside it, casting a knowing glance.
pasta carbonara (serves 6 – 8)
8 oz bacon
1 lb fettuccine
3 eggs
1 1/2 C finely grated parmigiano-reggiano
salt & lots of freshly ground pepper,
to taste
cut bacon into ¼-inch dice & cook in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat for 2 – 3 minutes, until fat begins to render. set aside.
bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add fettuccine. cook until al dente (per package instructions).
while pasta is cooking, combine eggs and 1 C parmigiano in a bowl. add salt and pepper. set aside.
reserve about 2 cups of the cooking water in a bowl; drain pasta & add to bacon in skillet. over medium heat, toss with tongs until pasta is well-coated by rendered bacon fat. remove skillet from heat and add egg mixture, again tossing with tongs until well-combined. add pasta water in ½ cup measurements (you may not use all of the water), combining well after each addition, until sauce has loosened but is still creamy & thick. serve immediately in bowls with remaining parmigiano.
not-so-golden globes.
awards season is one of my favorite times on television. i get to pretend that i am a seat-filler & dress for the occasion, even though the only seat i am filling (so far) is on my orange velveteen couch. the golden globes snuck up on me this year & found me sitting on said orange couch, not in a fabulous party dress, but in my red navajo-inspired, slits-up-to-here knit tunic, brown pleather leggings & sky-high-heeled tall boots. dressed-down (for me)? yes. still pulled together? always most of the time. which is more than i can say for some of the looks that showed up on the red carpet. thankfully charlize theron & viola davis (who were also both resplendent at the critic’s choice awards) did their part to moderate the crazy. i had a sartorially-corrective experience the following night when i saw a photo of the lovely & often-spot-on tracee ellis ross at the art of elysium gala. also lovely was the dinner i made for my man & the boys of smoky & spicy flank steak, collard greens smash & boiled yukon golds with espelette aioli.
meat heals.
smoky & spicy flank steak
(serves 6–8)
2 lbs. flank steak
2 tsp. peanut oil
1 tsp. coarse kosher salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
1T fresh thyme leaves
2 ½ tsp. pimenton ahumado
1 ½ tsp. pimenton picante
preheat broiler.
bring flank steak to room temperature; place on a rimmed baking sheet. rub each side of the steak with peanut oil. combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl; rub mixture into steak. place steak in broiler for 4 minutes, flip steak & place in broiler for 5 more minutes (for medium rare). remove steak from broiler & let rest for 10 minutes. slice thinly across the grain & on a steep diagonal; serve with any accumulated juices.
collard greens smash (serves 6 – 8)
1T butter
1T olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1T flour
1 clove garlic, minced
2 lbs. greens (collards, kale, chard or combination thereof), cleaned, coarsely chopped
1/2C heavy cream
1/2C grated parmesan
1/4tsp. grated nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste
sauté onions in oil & butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat; caramelize until onions are golden & soft, about 12 – 15 minutes. increase heat to medium-high, sprinkle with flour & stir for 1 minute. remove from heat & stir in garlic. set aside.
fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. add greens. boil for 3 minutes & drain. transfer greens to a food processor with heavy cream and pulse in 2 or 3 5-second intervals, until greens are coarsely pureed. combine greens, parmesan & nutmeg in a serving bowl. add salt & pepper to taste.
happy birthday to ya’.
we toast to you, dr. king.
the morning after.
new year’s eve was super great & i mean super. i went to my favorites’ house for the night & ended up staying for two. there was disco & tequila & i donned my brown sequins pants & the sky-highest art-deco-y bronze shoes. the day after was a haze of mimosas, tea, the fighter, benedicts, mimosas, bridesmaids, bacon, mimosas, fried potatoes with aioli, inception & lays potato chips. enough said. the day after the day after found b at the blender whipping up smoothies. oh it was a very good start to a the new year.
good morning sunshine.
bacon benedict (serves 4)
for hollandaise:
5 egg yolks
1 lemon, juiced
2T water
salt
pinch cayenne
1 lb. hot, melted butter
16 slices bacon, cooked, drained
8 slices rustic, whole grain bread
1T white vinegar
8 eggs
chopped parsley, for garnish
lightly toast bread & place in a 200-degree oven to keep warm.
heat 2 to 3 inches salted water to a simmer in a wide saucepan for the eggs; turn off the heat & cover to keep warm.
for the hollandaise, combine the egg yolks, lemon juice, water, salt & cayenne in a blender and blend until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. with the blender running, slowly pour in the melted butter. add more salt or lemon juice to taste.
return the water in the saucepan to a low simmer. add the vinegar and swirl a couple of times with a kitchen spoon. crack each egg into a cup & then gently drop 4 eggs into the simmering water and cook until just set, 4 to 5 minutes. remove with a slotted spoon to a clean, dry dishtowel. repeat with remaining 4 eggs.
place 2 pieces of toast on each plate. put 2 pieces of bacon on each half and top with 1 poached eggs. spoon the warm hollandaise sauce over sprinkle with chopped parsley.
mothershuckers.
sweet sweetwaters, part I.
new year’s eve day is a great day to drive up to tomales bay & end up at the hog island oyster company. i felt very city-girl-in-the-country (a recurring theme) in my mid-thigh length fur vest. as an auspicious beginning to the new year, they accidentally duplicated my order so six oysters turned into twelve. add beer. happy new year!!
i brought two dozen plump & just-a-bit briny sweetwaters back to our friend’s house for the party that night and i made oysters shakuza – my version of oysters rockefeller. it was the first time that i cooked oysters – i am a lover of them raw with just a splash of mignonette. the upside is that they were amazing. the downside is that my dear friend (she is spanish -from madrid- & was wearing this fabulously colorful, long flamencoesque skirt & looked muy caliente) bit down on some shell and cracked her tooth. ¡me cachis!
oysters shakuza(makes 12)
2T unsalted butter
3T minced shallot
1 ½ cups baby spinach
2T chopped parsley
2T cognac
2T heavy cream
cayenne to taste
salt & pepper to taste
6T grated pecorino-romano
12 medium-to-large oysters on the half shell, picked over for shell fragments
& shells scrubbed well
put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.
melt butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat. add shallot and sauté for one minute. add spinach & parsley & cook, stirring, until spinach is wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. increase heat to high &stir in cognac until nearly absorbed. Reduce heat to low & add heavy cream, cayenne, salt & pepper. remove mixture from heat.
spoon spinach mixture evenly over oysters & sprinkle with pecorino-romano. bake oysters until edges of oysters begin to curl and cheese is melted & golden in spots, about 10 minutes.
serve warm oysters in shells.
ilovermont.
summer in vermont – it doesn’t get much better. better still, my amazing extra parents, mama jean & papa david, live there so my boy & i spent last august with them on the commune. i’ve been close to a dozen times and this trip was magic – splashing around in lakes & barreling along dirt roads, breaking bread, picking berries & slaughtering a chicken. yep. i said it. my own micro-version of farm-to-table. i shifted from city-girl-in-the-country to more of a country-girl-in-the-country (including sensible braids & muck muck boots) for the slaughter. but most of august was spent as it should be – under a big sun in a teeny bikini.
roast chicken with lemon, olive & thyme (serves 4)
1 large onion, thickly sliced
6 sprigs fresh thyme
½ C. pitted green sicilian olives or other brine-cured green olives
2 meyer lemons, cut into ½” slices*
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 C. chicken stock
1 C. dry white wine
1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
¼ tsp. red chili flakes or more to taste
5T. olive oil
preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.
scatter onion, thyme, olives, lemon slices & garlic in a roasting pan. add chicken stock & wine to pan. season chicken with salt, pepper & chili flakes. arrange chicken, skin side up, in roasting pan & drizzle with olive oil. roast uncovered until chicken is deeply browned, skin is crisp & chicken is cooked through, 45 – 50 minutes. let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
*meyer lemon slices are entirely edible & delicious with the chicken – peel & all.
whaticookedwhatiwore 