Showing posts with label beet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beet. Show all posts

Friday, February 15, 2013

Casa Del Mar's New Lobby Lounge Bites, Barrel Aged Cocktails

Casa Del Mar has been elevating their cocktail program under the radar, inviting renowned bartenders locally and internationally to train their staff and help with new menus. One of the latest such consultant is LA's own Aidan Demarest.

Not only that, now you can age your own 5 liters of cocktails with your name or logo etched into the barrel! Choose from Brooklyn, Manhattan, or Vesper, or consult with the bartenders for your own. Once you finish the contents, you get to take the barrel home as a keepsake. The pricing for this starts around $500 per barrel (it depends on the spirits you use).

Barrel Aged Cocktail
I tried their Barrel aged Vieux Carree (Hudson rye whiskey, Tariquet Armagnac VS, Carpano Antica, Angostura bitters, aged 8 1/2 weeks in new American white oak barrels).

The lead bartender, Raymond, has also been coming up with fun new cocktails using fresh produce, like the
Smoky Beets (Alipus mezcal, fresh beet puree, lime juice, Ras El Hanout). This may be my favorite out of the cocktails I tried. The beet flavor wasn't overpowering and the ras el hanout is a unique touch.
Beet Cocktail

Monday, July 12, 2010

Recipe: Red Beet Risotto by Chef Ray Garcia, FIG Restaurant

Los Angeles Magazine held another In The Kitchen event on June 16th at the Snyder Diamond showroom in Santa Monica, this time featuring cooking demonstration by Chef Ray Garcia of FIG restaurant.

I'll have a full report out soon, but in the meantime, you can enjoy the recipe for this delicious Red Beet Risotto from Chef Garcia!
It's made with vegetable stock too so it's healthier, lighter, and vegetarian friendly.


Red Beet Risotto

by
Chef Ray Garcia
FIG Restaurant
Santa Monica, CA







Beetroot Purée
2 red beets
1/2 medium onion
16 oz vegetable stock

Risotto
5 cups Carnaroli Rice
1 onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
7 oz red wine
2 cups vegetable stock
4 oz beetroot puree
3 oz unsalted butter
3 oz parmesan cheese
2 oz crème fraiche
2 tbsp chopped dill
2 tbsp chives

Garnish
5 each: yellow & red baby carrots, white & green asparagus
10 pieces golden beetroot

1. Boil red beets and onion until soft. Transfer to blender or food processor and purée. Set aside for later.
2. In a new pot, heat 1 tbsp oil and sauté onion until fragrant.
3. Add rice and bay leaf, cook for 2 minutes.
4. Pour wine into pot and allow to reduce by 3/4.
5. Add stock, one ladle at a time (wait until previous stock boils off before adding more), and stir frequently until risotto achieves desired texture.
6. Add beet purée and stir to incorporate. Finish with butter, parmesan cheese, crème fraiche, herbs, salt and pepper.
7. Blanch vegetables for garnish in salted water. Sauté with butter and season with salt and pepper.
8. Serve risotto in a medium-sized bowl, topped with sautéed vegetables.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Hitting Comme Ca Early - Less Noise

We've been wanting to try Comme Ca but heard it is super noisy since 1)a lot of "young people" go there and 2)the acoustics is just bad. But today we decided to go there at 5 ish, to avoid all the crowds.

Only 3 tables were filled when we arrived. On the phone they said we didn't need reservation if we come before 5.30. We were greeted with "do you have reservations?" anyway, but were eventually seated.

They were quick to take drink orders but we asked only for tap water. After this, even though the restaurant was practically empty the service decidedly is. very. slow.

Eventually they took our orders. And then brought us bread. Eventually. But on to the food. Got the roasted beet salad for appetizer:

Very flavorful (if not just a tad salty), and the goat cheese covered in pistachio was excellent. Way better than the one I got at Fraiche recently.

Then also had the Sepia Provencal for appetizer (sauteed squid):

This was also an excellent, flavorful dish. The squid was tender but still firm/not overcooked.

For the entree we ordered the braised lamb shank.

Very nice dish, and the sauce was great. The meat was tender, although I prefer it to be even more tender (I usually enjoy the meat right next to the bone best). The tomato deserves a distinctive mention.

The other entree was the duck confit.

Although it didn't look as good as the lamb this dish was actually excellent. The duck meat was tender, almost as if it fell apart as we cut it. Not at all too dry or too tough, and the skin was perfectly crispy without being burned.

As you may already know, the dessert here is from Boule Patisserie. I've been there once but was disappointed by the service, so I thought this would be a good time to try their stuff again (since the service at Comma Ca is decidedly better - albeit slo~w).
Got the boule cake

chocolate and hazelnut mousse with cherries covered with dark chocolate. Yummy, though very rich.

And also the brioche pudding:

I like this better, although too rich and too dry at the same time for me to eat without the ice cream. As soon as we're out of the ice cream I could not eat any more ... Too bad, as I did like it.

When we left (at 7 pm) the restaurant was packed and it was getting noisier , although we still saw way more of the 'older crowd'.

Comme Ca Brasserie
8479 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90069
323.782.1178
www.commecarestaurant.com

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