hello friends! i hope you all had a great march, and apologies for sending this out a week late.
before we discuss the food - i wanted to get your opinions on my substack thus far. i would love to know what content you want from me and how i can make the content i am providing even better :). to show my appreciation, if you are not a paying subscriber already and you answer the questions in this google form, you’ll get a 1-month subscription for free (i just need your response by monday eod, and i’ll be sending out the one month free subscriptions on tuesday).
i contributed a recipe for oatmeal pancakes (which i talked about back in my november food blog) to food is a mother, a collaborative zine curated by anja tyson and co-published by mother tongue magazine. in honor of mother's day, net proceeds from the sales of this zine will be donated to little essentials, a non-profit devoted to supporting new york city's at-risk families living in poverty and promoting the health, well-being, and safety of children under five years of age. you can order a copy here.
apologies, march has been a month of not-super-inspiring cooking. i’m in a bit of a funk which seems to be getting in the way of my creativity and desire to cook, also still waiting for spring produce here in the ny region (hoping when it comes it will inspire some creativity). while i wait for inspo to strike i’ve been funneling my cooking energy into pasta, which you have already seen a bit of with this soft-boiled egg pasta attempt, and my two spring pasta recipes.
but i also made lasagne, not once, but twice on sundays in march. something about sunday to me feels like the right day to make lasagne, it is both a dish that is slow - it requires your time and attention, which i usually have more of on weekends. it also is something super comforting and snug and delicious that just feels like the right note to end the week on before starting a new one.
during real winter (somewhere between january and early february) i made a lot of beef shank ragu (i love using beef shank as there’s a great meat-to-marrow ratio, and it’s not super expensive). the ragu is delicious and thus i made extra so i could eat it in other pasta dishes. i don’t have a recipe, but i basically do what this recipe lays out with a few changes:
1. i use a whole bottle of red wine for 6lbs of shanks
2. i use tomato passata instead of crushed tomatoes (both work fine though)
3. aromatics: i always add some dried bay leaf and fresh rosemary sprigs (dried is also fine), a few anchovies, two to three parm rinds, and maybe a few dried mushrooms
4. I use beef stock instead of vegetable broth (and used as much as was needed to cover the shanks entirely, i did not measure the amount)
5. i bake at 275f for longer because i read somewhere that this keeps the cartilage from getting tough (i’m not sure if this is true)
6. after i remove the meat and marrow from the bones and mix them together, separately blend the leftover sauce with some more uncooked garlic and onion, strain it, and add it back to the pot over medium heat to reduce and intensify.
i ate some of the sauce that night, and then portioned and froze the leftovers. i have been defrosting a portion whenever i want to eat it, like in this case, for lasagna.
i tried making ‘individual’ sized lasagnas in two ways. one was in a square with a bunch of layers, and the other was a long three sheeter inspired by the two sheeter of rolo’s fame (a great restaurant fyi, and kelly mencin, of radio bakery, has done an excellent job with the bread/pastry there, big shout out to the flatbread apps on the brunch menu).
both of the lasagnas were made from an egg yolk pasta dough, the same recipe i published earlier this week, (quickly cooked in boiling water for about 30 seconds and then shocked in ice), a classic béchamel (also in the pasta recipe from earlier this week), grated parm, and the beef shank ragu outlined above. i started by putting some of the béchamel directly on top of a piece of parchment, followed by a layer of the blanched pasta, followed by the beef shank ragu, followed by more béchamel, and then some parm. i then repeated this whole thing with the rest of the pasta sheets (minus the step where i put the bechamel on the parchment) and placed the baking sheet it at the top of my oven set to the highest temp (it gets to about 500f) to cook for about 10 minutes, or until bubbling.
enough pasta talk (okay, i admit there is a little more below), i also went to LA march for a few days for work (yes, i travel with cake), and then spent a few extra days there to eat.
below are the fantastic places i ate at
el ruso - this was the first thing i ate after getting off the plane. i’ve been dreaming about going here for a few years, and it lived up to my expectations - “wow” was the first thing i said after taking a bite. super tender and flavorful meat + delicious flour tortillas + great salsa = perfection. the chorizo is so juicy and melt-in-your-mouth flavorful. i also loved the adobada and carne en chile colorado.
mariscos jalisco - the crispy shrimp taco is one of those things i’ll be dreaming about until the next time i have it. it’s crispy/crunchy, soggy and tender, piping hot, shrimp-y, and tomato-y. my mouth is watering as i write this.
quarter sheets pizza - excellent excellent square pizza. quite possibly the best square slices i have ever had. they have really got the ratio of crust, to tomato, to cheese, to toppings down pat. the crust is oh-so-perfectly executed: light and airy, chewy, perfectly crispy and oily. we also got a slice of the specialty broccoli pie with sesame and it was excellent.
clark street - the pistachio saffron croissant is super flavorful, and the cream bun is super light and airy. ps. i heard their diner makes great breakfast.
courage bagels - yes, it is an excellent bagel and i would wait in line for 30 minutes to have them again. i tried the sesame, everything, and burnt everything, and were all delicious. they are crispy on the outside, light on the inside, and nice and chewy. i also love their passion for dill.
felix trattoria - all the apps and pastas are fantastic. if you go, you have to order their focaccia, i am still a bit dumbfounded as to how they got it so light and airy. i will be dreaming about it for a long time (it was like eating a cloud with a crunchy, oily outside). i also loved their broccolini and fried squash blossom apps. a group of us split five pastas which were perfectly perfectly perfectly executed. i’ve been wanting to dine here for years and it lived up to my expectations. i’m also a huge fan of chef evan funke’s cookbook, and i would highly recommend getting a copy if you want to learn how to make pasta.
park’s bbq - oh-so delicious. the meats are super tender and flavorful (i got the “p1” to sample a whole bunch of meats and would highly recommend it), and the banchan is delicious. also, be sure to order the kimchi pancake! i want to go with more friends next time so i can try a bunch more things.
gjusta - yummy breakfast dishes and coffee in a lovely outdoor setting. the croissant is buttery and savory, and the pistachio one has a great intense flavor.
jitlada - i first went to jitlada on my previous trip to los angeles, which was about 6 years ago, loved it, returned on this trip, and loved it even more. the kua kling roll is truly the most perfect bite, it was so good it had me fantasizing about moving to la just so i could eat it every week. we also got the spicy chili beef which was super fragrant, perfectly seasoned, and perfectly spicy. and the jordy oxtail with thai eggplant was just so perfectly cooked and oh-so beautifully flavored. the menu has soooo many things that sound soooo good, but it would honestly be hard to not just reorder all of these dishes next time i come to la.
dunsmoor - everything was delicious. the cornbread here is a must, it is served hot with a mountain of butter on top and a river of honey cascading down (it’s listed as a side, but on my next trip to la i’ll order as a dessert as it is the perfectly rich and warm bite to end a meal). i also loved the steak which was tender and meaty and perfectly cooked, as well as the braised greens which were delicious.
pizzeria sei - some of the best pizza i have ever had. beautifully doughy crust that has a great level of saltiness, perfectly balanced sauce, soft cheese, and a nice glug of olive oil. i would definitely re-order the margherita pie and the potato pie, which is the best white pie i have had in my life (basically like a perfectly executed potato gratin with lots of cream and garlic and thyme but on a pizza). also, their tiramisu is not to be missed (if you think you are too full to eat it, like we were, take it to go and eat once you’ve digested a bit), it tastes so buttery and smooth with a beautifully textured ladyfinger sponge.