Monsieur Gorgonzola Salad

The other weekend at Julienne my lactose-intolerant self decided that she has a thing for Gorgonzola Cheese.  Despite my general hesitancies with blue-veined fromage, Monsieur Gorgonzola has proven attractive in diverse situations - primarily pear salad and open-face omelette, melted and crumbled - and his allure was too much to resist. I knew he was not good for me, but what could I do? I took the good with the bad (and the lactose pill with the cheese) and pursued the passion in my heart.

This affair resulted in a spur-of-the-moment trip to the store, where there was only a tub of crumbled, generic-brand Mr. G - but better than nothing. It turned out to be a bit dry, but the flavor was what I was looking for.  I was too tired to assemble an inspiring salad that night, but the chunks of Gorgonzola fit perfectly inside capped strawberries.  Definitely an appetizer waiting to happen!

A few nights later, however, the inspiration came, and the salad pictured above came to life: red leaf lettuce, mango, strawberries, blueberries, pecan bits, balsamic vinaigrette, and Mr. G.  This Monsieur Gorgonzola Salad is the less-sweet and more fresh counterpart to the Mistress Salad I had in Israel (not necessarily a statement about male v. female food characteristics); rather than caramelized dressing and pears, the dressing was tart and the fruits straight-up .  I ate it alone in my kitchen and actually made exclamations out loud while I ate it - "That is so good!", "oh my goodness!", "mmmmmm."  Profound observations, yes?

Monsieur Gorgonzola Salad

1 head red leaf lettuce

1 whole mango

4 large strawberries

1 small handful fresh blueberries

(substitute/add any fresh fruits in season or your faves)

light dusting of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

light dusting of roasted unsalted pecan bits (TJ's has a great package of these)

Trader Joe's Fat-free Balsamic Vinaigrette

For one large salad as a one-person entrée, wash and tear up a plateful of lettuce (approximately 1/3 of the head).  Peel and slice the mango, wash and slice the strawberries, and arrange these with all the rest of the ingredients artfully on the lettuce.  Lightly dress the salad, and enjoy!

From L.A.

Recently I've been coming to terms with the idea of being from L.A.; I moved here five years ago, and it looks like I'll be here another five, so at some point I will probably identify myself as "from L.A."  This identity change will take a while to get used to, but I've realized that there are a lot of great food opportunities here that I appreciate.  While some folks in other parts of the country, and even the state of California, do not have many food choices, I have options representing many ethnicities and cuisine trends.  I thought I would share a few photos of food I've eaten out just in the last week in L.A. - and by L.A. I mean everything in the L.A. Basin, from the coast on the west, north to the edge of Ventura County, south to the edge of the O.C., and east to Pomona.

The photo above is from a vegetarian restaurant in Eagle Rock called Fatty's; my friend ordered this lovely pear gorgonzola salad which made me quite jealous after the one bite I had.  The cheese was pan seared and breaded crispy on the outside but melty on the inside, the pears and oranges were sweet, and the vinaigrette light but tasty.  I love how the slice of blood orange sits on the cheese like a hat.

This is dessert at Babalu on Montana Street in Santa Monica - a trendy hangout that a friend introduced me to - a fabulous follow up to excellent entrées.  In the foreground you see the opera cake, made with thin layers of white cake filled in with cream and lots of almond chunks, coated in dark chocolate and served with thick, sweet whipped cream.  In the background you can see a bit of the Italian wedding cake, which is covered in cream cheese frosting and coconut on the outside, packed with walnut bits between the cake layers inside.

Back at Fatty's, this appetizer was a hit: whole dates, stuffed with walnuts and wrapped in veggie bacon, drizzled with a balsamic syrup.  Definitely something I'll try to replicate with turkey bacon - the smokey flavor of the pseudo-meat with the sweetness of the date was a marvelous combination, as was the crispiness of the bacon with the soft chewy date.

Not a great photo, but one of my childhood favorites: Beef Chow Fun.  As a kid I called it "fat noodles" (although these noodles aren't that fat), and it was one of the things alongside of sweet and sour pork that I would gobble up at the time at Chinese restaurants.  Usually smokey flavored, greasy, and great.

My current dim sum favorite: Siu Mai, or shrimp and pork meatballs.  Certainly not kosher nor vegetarian, but so, so good.  The best are at NBC in Monterey Park, where I practically go into raptures while I eat their siu mai and exclaim after every bite "these are so good!"  I don't know how the juicy flavor is the way it is, but I will not ruin the experience by overanalyzing it.  NBC also has the best general dim sum offerings and squab lettuce wraps, among other things.  Monterey Park is the current living Chinatown of L.A., and the place of my birth.  If you go for Chinese food in L.A., you gotta go here sometime.

I felt I had to represent Malibu in some way; these are the hugest glasses of Diet Coke ever (another unhealthy vice of mine; there's something classic about picturing unhealthy diet vices in Malibu...) at Paradise Cove, a restaurant where you not only can see the beach and the waves, but you have your feet directly in the sand.  Very pleasant on the evening of one of the hottest days of the year.

Last and far from least, some crême brûlée french toast with fresh strawberry sauce at Julienne, a quaint French-ish café in San Marino.  The inside of the bread barely has a bread texture, as it probably has been soaked in egg and cream for a tremendously long time, and the top has a small layer of torch-burnt sugar.  This was not as sweet as I was expecting, and the bread was a bit eggier than I prefer, but this was a unique breakfast with excellent sauces.  I would order it again to work out the secret of the bread texture - but then again, there are so many other things I want to try on the menu, and so much to browse in the attached store...

Fatty's Cafe

1627 Colorado Blvd.

Eagle Rock, CA  90041

323.254.8804

Babalu

1002 Montana Ave.

Santa Monica, CA  90403

310.395.25000

NBC Seafood Restaurant, Inc.

404 S. Atlantic Blvd.

Monterey Park, CA  91754

626.282.2323

Paradise Cove Beach Cafe

28128 Pacific Coast Highway

Malibu, CA  90265

310.457.2503

Julienne

2649 Mission Street

San Marino, CA 91108

626.441.2290