The Pink-ies Up, or, When I Went to Teavana

Well crap. I found another food rabbit hole I could see myself going down. Or maybe I should say another sensory rabbit hole–I did a perfume smelling recently that was so similar to wine tasting that I would have left intoxicated even if my friends had not poured a round of port to keep our mouths occupied whilst our noses did the heavy lifting.

But perfume is a rabbit hole for another blog. I wanted to learn of tea. Actually that’s not true. I hadn’t thought much about tea then Teavana was all “come play with teas with us” and I all like “totes!” Except you know that is sort of a lie because I would never say totes in a non-ironic sense of the word. I just said “yes”.

And then I said “extra yes please” (to myself anyway) as I contemplated the tea cocktail possibilities. Fast forward to about 6 minutes 45 seconds to see the cocktail. Or watch it all because we’re funny and stuff:

Let’s start with the Teavana wrongs: so corporate.

Okay I am done.

What Teavana gets right: The passion of the people making tea there. The pure rock sugar crystals they gave me to add to my ever-growing sugar collection (I’ve got nine types of sugar now). The really uber-cool tea brewer thingamajig where you load sweetener and tea in and let er’ rip then set the sucker down on top of your cup and like magic it drains out the bottom into the vessel you will bear to your thirsty lips.

Oh and feast your eyeballs on these big ol’ containers of rock. Sugar:

And then the tea blends. They are pure products. I was tempted to actually snack on some such as the citrus lavender sage blend. Hunks of dried fruit in an herbal and mildly herbal blend? Yes please. Another snack tea was the (unfortunately) excellent peppermint white chocolate blend. Unfortunate because I would sooooo turn up my nose at it if it didn’t smell like heaven and make as good an ice cream topping dry as it does steeped in to tea submission.

They have a good thing going there. A whole wall full of flavors that can be mixed and matched and sniffed and swirled. It was like wine tasting but I didn’t need a designated driver.

Enough of the praise. Let’s booze this shiz-nit up! Because I hate driving enough to create a situation requiring a driver. I made a cocktail with gin and the grapefruit strawberry green tea blend I brought home. I added homemade limoncello and fresh grapefruit juice. Lastly came a dose of bitters, and eventually (as you will see in the video) an extra garnish. So WATCH if you haven’t yet. Ooh, and making a pink cocktail gave reason to make a punny name for me tea-based drink: The Pink-ies Up

Funtimes! Happy! Come fetch my tipsy arse and take me home dear driver!

The Pink-ies Up an original Ellen Clifford tasty delight
For infused gin:
1/2 cup gin (I like Hendrick’s)
1 1/2 tsp. strawberry grapefruit green tea mix
Steep for about 45 minutes then strain. You’ll know the time is right when the gin is pink.

For the drink:
1 1/2 oz. infused gin
1/2 oz. freshly squeezed pink or red grapefruit juice
1 oz. limoncello
4 dashes Angostura bitters
extra dry tea mix to garnish
Shake all but the extra tea with ice. Strain into chilled glasses. Sprinkle on some dry tea.

Pink-ies Up!

Nancy is THE best

I almost do not want to tell you about The Copper Still. But I will. It deserves attention. Nancy deserves attention.

Nancy Kwon is Los Angeles’ best bartender AND best mixologist. I stand behind this opinion and anyone who challenges me should pay her a visit. Being a good bartender and a good mixologist are not the same thing. Nancy is also hella hot (and yet told me not to have pictures of her in this post), warm-hearted, brilliant, and prefers her Sazerac heavy on the absinthe rinse which makes her a woman after my own heart.

Oh hell she is not after it. She has it.

Just take a look at what is behind the bar. She has a collection of booze and bitters I could spend a month exploring. And on any given night she is experimenting and having people taste to help her perfect her next drink. For instance last night I saw a plate out with various little piles of salt. She was trying to determine which smoked salt was the best rimming mix for the mescal drink she was developing. I’d be impressed just at the smoked salt. But she gets so detail oriented that she had to choose which type of smoked salt to use.

This tiny lil’ unassuming Koreatown joint is easy to miss. It is attached to Jaragua, which is not. But through a curtain in the bar is indeed the restaurant which serves its creations late. It is a pretty tiny place. It is dark and red and black, and welcoming and not toooooo loud.

And here is a kicker: there is a parking lot. Which is too bad considering I would avoid driving here if I want more than one drink. All the same. Parking! I swoon, I faint, I would knight this bar if I were Queen of England. Which would be weird.
The Copper Still
4485 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90004

Hakka-lujah

Oh, Hakkasan. Birthplace of the hakki-sack. I jest. Hacky-sack players are pretty much next to last on the list of people I’d think would eat at Hakkasan. Last would be the guy who is always outside my local Von’s asking for money. I offered him an orange once, which he took, then said “I’d take a banana”. Which I did not have and I doubt Hakkasan does either (except maybe mixed into a dessert?). I wanted to say “I’d take a thank you”, but decided his day had probably been worse than mine so I’d let it go. Not that I’d tell a dude off late at night outside of Von’s. Although I once got in some frat-type guys’ faces in the street late at night. They had kicked a cat. I should have kicked them.

Oh, right. Food.

I told you I was going to write about my LA dining experiences from time to time, so! For your consideration:
Hakkasan.
This is one snazzy Beverly Hills joint. It deems itself as modern Cantonese cuisine. I confess I am somewhat unequipped to really judge Chinese food. I never eat it outside the home. I rarely even cook food that requires chopsticks or qualifies as faux asian-ish.

So let’s start with the visuals. The of interior of Hakkasan is sleek. Dark but not too dark, expansive but somehow our table felt cozy. Really gorgeous wood interior. Tables are divided with the carved oak and Chinese screens. The music was a wee loud but not so much so as to really bug me.

As for the eats, that picture at the top is of the sautéed mushroom lettuce wraps. We didn’t order them, they were apology wraps. Unfortunately, there was a wee bit of a snafu with our vegetarian dumplings which turned out not to be vegetarian.
Oh, obviously but anyway, dumplings are by their cuddly nature adorable:

A warning to vegetarians: there is a bit of cultural misunderstanding between us Los Angelenos and the rest of the world when it comes to what being a vegetarian is. At Hakkasan some of the items marked as vegetarian do in fact have seafood in them, so (nicely) grill your server accordingly. Also unfortunately, the very nice French guy who took our order-who I think might have been the manager as our official waitress was somebody else else-misunderstood that I wanted the lotus dish and brought me the stir-fried mushrooms with yam bean, sugar snap peas and macadamia nuts. It was excellent, but I’d been looking forward to the lotus. I didn’t bother bringing this to their attention though. After dealing with the dumpling ado I was not feeling like bringing up more problems, and well, I do love macadamia nuts.

Despite all the veggie confusion, they did get it right that I wanted my salad dressing on the side. This is Beverly Hills, I imagine that is their default. Next to requests to replace the dressing with something not in the menu, or air. I shouldn’t stereotype. East-siders are probably even more particular as to how they want their food.
Onward. My friend’s sea bass was rather gorgeous:

And according to her and her empty plate, it was also delectable.

In full disclosure, another reason I did not argue for my lotus was because at that point I had pleasantly been plied with wine and saké recommended by their sommelier, Jared Hooper. Knowing Jared was also the reason I ended up venturing to Hakkasan.

The saké was an unfiltered one. My friend had requested sweeter saké, and this was what Jared recommended. I found it quite tasty, and light in texture despite the milky appearance. The white stuff is rice…particles? “Fines” is the word maybe? I could practically have had it for dessert, but for my friend’s sweet-craving taste buds, it was perfect for dinner.

The wine list alone is really reason enough to visit Hakkasan. What I drank for dinner was a Sancerre, because when I see a Sancerre on the menu it’s a Pavlovian dog-like response of mine to start salivating and order it. Later, Jared popped by with a pour of another white he would not disclose the identity of. It was sweeter, more viscous than my Sancerre with a pleasant honeyed taste to it. After making that comparison he disclosed that it was, like the completely different Sancerre I was drinking, also a Sauvignon Blanc, but from New Zealand, as opposed to the Loire valley my Sancerre Sauvignon came from. I love doing blind tastings, especially when they surprise me. Jared is a fountain of wine knowledge, and is obviously passionate about what he does. Trust in his guidance and you will be very happy.
So to sum up. I liked it. I had a good time. A 90210 sip code restaurant is unlikely to become a regular go-to for me, but I’d go back.
After all, I DO need to try the lotus.
Hakkasan
233 N Beverly Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

STL I <3 U

TOTES forgive me for, like, my cray use of stuff like <3's, but I just luv my hometown-you can find a beginner’s guide to my fave StL places here.
But I also went to new places this time and the new places convinced me of one thang.
I luv StL even mo because it is ON the craft cocktail thang.
2 many ccktls explain y I’ve devolved 2 so many abbr. words.

Okay, time lapse, I am better now. Bear with me and this post, for there is a drink for you at the end of the road.

And for Kelly, well, I don’t have anything for you, but I promise if you are ever at my house I’ll make the mocktail of your dreams.
After chilling with my parents and some corn in the cob, I started the partay-ing segment of Friday night at Basso, a new gastropub. In true St. Louis fashion it took all of five minutes for me to run into a ghost from the past. The creator of the “Philharmic” drink, Phil, and I worked at a restaurant together when I was in college. I had been in the mood for wine but the cocktail list was too dang interesting. Why have grapes when you could get a Criminale, made with bourbon, pistachio, pear, lemon and cinnamon? Between the three of us we sampled quite a few things. Almost all of them were a bit more sweet than I’d have liked, but were still tasty, if not quite balanced. That is balanced for those of us with bitter tastes in beverages.
I managed to avoid getting into the booze all day Saturday, which began by heading to The St. Louis Art Museum which is magically amazing and free.

The SLAM has an Ahhhh-mazing new modern wing that was opening that very day. Again, in StL fashion I bumped into another old ghost, my high school art teacher who now works at the museum and was a part of the creation of the new wing. Ahhhh, Rothko:

I began to reminisce about how my high school had neither a football team nor cheerleaders, but a killer chess team and my father informed me that St. Louis is actually considered the chess capital if the world.

The more you know.

After SLAM we traversed Forest Park aka one of the top ten urban parks in the world to the zoo (also free) to see the new sea lion exhibit. Such cute sea kittens.

Back home it was Clue-playing time with the rentz. I am always Miss Scarlett. Don’t even TRY to be her, she’s mine. I do get bossy sometimes. Seeing as I am queen.

I lost the game.

On with cocktails! One of my most highly anticipated activities was a date with my fwife (definition here) at Taste by Niche where I wanted to try every single one of Ted Kilgore’s cocktails. Taste is getting quite known, and rightfully so. Eleonor learned what Cynar was and I learned to pronounce it. Chee-NAHR. Not SIGH-nar.
Whoops-a-daisy.

Lemme tell you. I need to figure out the Old Flame. My beverage (please pronounce that bev-ehr-RAUGE in your head) included cognac, rye, cocchi rose, dolin dry, solerno blood orange, and absinthe. I had to look up some of those. I would need to buy most of those. But it might just be worth it. It was enough, more cocktails there and I’d have been under the bar, and I wanted my wits about me to enjoy my fwife night.

And yet after some pizaa dinner at the solid Central Table Food Hall, ince back at home we decides to continue the cocktail madness and I raided my parents’ liqueur supply to make a dessert drink. Actually, my mom had requested I make something to use up the vanilla vodka in the freezer so I HAD to oblige.

The recipe awaits your thirsty tongue at the end of this post.

We also made chocolate chip cookies (actually I ate the dough, Eleanor went for the cookies). From the only recipe you really need.

Like, in life. For-evah.

Sunday day included the best damn cup of coffee in the world with my fwife and two of my best damn friends in the world. Meshuggah I have been faithful to you since the wee coffee-swilling age of 13, and I always will, at least when I visit St. Louis.

Next up, a movie with the rents’. I thoroughly endorse Whedon’s version of Much Ado. Much fun.

More Clue. I love that game. Lost one, won one.

Dinner and more cocktail madness came with Andrew, another of the best friends in St. Louis (I have about 3, plus the fwife, I hope that is ok-I realize it is several “bests” but it doesn’t seem too excessive). Andrew is also the fearless leader if the taiko group I used to play with. I miss being in the band.

On with the cocktail madness. Sanctuaria had an out of this world program. I can’t even begin to discuss the merits if the Manhanzerac and all the other delights we drank. Come to think of it, the Old Flame I drank at Taste had elements of a Manhattan-Sazerac mash-up, but also mashed with an Old Pal. I need to figure out my own perfect mash-up of said beverages.

And I want to go back to Sanctuaria. And I want the book. Matt Seiter done good.

Whilst you await my own Manhattan-erac-a’-pal, please accept a very sweet beverage.

FWIFE-NIGHT (makes two. duh.)
1 oz. vanilla vodka
1 oz. Kahlua
1 oz. clear creme de cacao
1/2 oz. amaretto
1 oz. half and half
8 raspberries
orange twist
Add everything but 4 raspberries and the orange peel to a mixing glass. Muddle the berries then add ice and stir the shit out of it. Strain into dainty cups. Float raspberries. Run peel around rim, twist, and drop in. These are very sweet, pretty, SMALL drinks. Probably the way that super-sweet dessert drinks should be.
I hear-tell recently that you shouldn’t drop the citrus peel in the drink unless it is one of those classics like a horse’s neck and the spiral peel is important. But I like a peel in my drink, dammit. And the orange of the peel next to the deep red raspberries is so becoming.

Busy actress=great recipe, less description

I haven’t too too much fascinating to say on these corn cakes. I have been a busy busy actress.

I’m all about the repeated words with no comma separating them today. My my.

Why was I busy?

For one, putting together a new set of acting reels!
One funny:

One dramatic:

For seconds, I had a part in a short! Any weekend acting is a good one, particularly with these goombas:

And now your regularly scheduled gruel. It was worth wading through all the nonsense about my career to get to the recipe, no?

This is one of the few recipes I have made multiple times.
If you love the sweet corn cakes you get at Mexican restaurant you will love this healthier take on them.

That’s all she wrote, folks.
As I type this I am between shots on set so I better get back to set!

Sweet Corn Cakes from just barely adapted from More Healthy Home Cooking by Evelyn Tribole
5 Tbsp. Smart Balance(I used the light variety that is vegan)
1/3 c. Masa harina(or as auto correct says, mass hate)
1/3 c. applesauce
2 c. corn(I used frozen)
1/3 cup splenda(bad me)
2 Tbsp. buttermilk
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Preheat yer oven to 350. Spray and 8×8 pan. Beat that balance good. Slowly pour in masa harina and applesauce whilst you beat.
Chop that corn a bit in your lover. I mean in your candy-red Kitchen Aid food processor. My bad. Add that to the other bowl and mix in along with the remaining ingredients. Spread in you pan and bake around 40 minutes. I know, I know, its a thick pasty mix, how could it need 40 minutes? It just does. It should be getting a bit golden on top when you take it out.
This would have been great with the EZ recipe I posted last.

St. Louis goodness/resolutions!

Yea, StL won(one of 2011’s highlights for me)!:

Warning:there is a distinct lack of food and recipes in this entry. Instead you must read my self-indulgent banter about me, me, where I’m from, and what makes me happy about where I’m from.
Although you don’t have to.
You could stop reading right now.
But you shouldn’t.
Two things to discuss today:
1)I got to visit St. Louis and MUST tell you a couple of awesome things I cannot miss in my fair hometown, home of world champions the Cardinals, also home of the most awesome 20th century architectural achievement aka the Arch(check out the Monument to the Dream documentary sometime) and home of the best coffeehouse in the history of history. I’ll get to that shortly.
2) I have New Years resolutions. To gain a couple pounds and take the risk of asking for what I need more.
Career-wise and life-wise.
Stop thinking you’re not worth it, Clifford!
To take risks in general. Nothing to fear but fear itself.
Well, that and brain injury.
But I can handle that.
As for the weight gain, I lost a few this year half due to a springtime depression and then to an ultra-busy fall. As someone who has struggled with anorexia I know when I’m too low, and am determined not to stay there. Cause anorexic Ellen is no fun for anyone including her. Ok, time to stop creepily talking in third person and get back to the Lou.
Meshuggah
The place I’ve gone since I was 13. My favorite coffee on earth. Do yourself a favor and go there.
It’s rich. It’s strong. It’s delicious. No drip coffee. They handmake each cup like an americano. Expect to get wired. And addicted.
The Tivoli:

Across the street from Meshuggah in the famous University City Loop. I was raised in the U. City loop. Me and Nelly. From the Lou and we’re proud.
St. Louis winter tap water:
I jest not. St. Louis tap is the best. Ice cold and eau so delectable.

Other places I adore include Sasha’s Wine Bar, Forest Park(which includes the zoo, the art museum, the Science Center, the Boathouse), The Chocolate Bar, Pi, The St. Louis Bread Company, The City Museum(craziest place on earth, possibly), the Botanical Gardens, performances by the group I used to drum with

Yes, I am showing off. I kicked taiko arse, back in the day…
There is too much St. Louis awesome-ness to write up in one post on a cooking blog.
But if you do one thing in St. Louis, check out the Loop. Drink some coffee. Chase with some tap water. Hard core St. Louis, baby.

Purple ftw

First off, eat at Jar. Even if you are a vegetarian, perhaps even vegan. The vegetable sides are brilliant.
Second(on? off?), be adventurous. I do not like sweet potatoes. I saw purple Okinawan sweet potatoes on the Jar menu and decided to throw caution to the wind in the name of purple. I like purple though I do not know that I will wear it when I am old. I’ll probably still be in black. These do not taste like potatoes or sweet potatoes. They taste fantastic.
Thirdly, frequent a Korean market in Koreatown in the fall/winter and find yourself some of these. The California Market is the only place I’ve found these gems. Do not be afraid. Koreatown will not bite. And I need some visitors over here on the more easterly side of LA, I’ve been trekking west far too much these days.
I’ll stop whining.
Lastly but hardly leastly, nor yeasty, bake these up and serve with a sprinkling of fleur de sel. Don’t attempt the mustard aoli dip you see in the background-it was a bit of a fail.
I imagine some Bearnaise would be smashing, though.

Do you like foods better when they come in a cool color?

Bitt me, Bayby

Mark Bittman recipe from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian for Baked Macaroni and Cheese=delicious.
Nothing makes a white sauce based dish better than infusing the milk with a bay leaf. Seriously. One tiny leaf and the sauce will sing. It might even take requests.
I confess I made this months ago. I was in the middle of a passionate affair with everything Bittman. Thought I posted it. I did not. Which is dandy considering that working like a fiend has left me with little time to do much beyond shake a jar once a day.
What reminded me to post this mac and cheese was an evening containing both a delectable dish and an epic fail. It all started quite normally, wandering downtown Culver City in search of a nosh. We eventually settled on Bottlerock. I noted the “mystery wine” option on the menu. If you guess the grape and region you get a free glass. Aha! I could show off my wine smarts-not that it really mattered to partner in crime who claims that every wine tastes “exactly the same” to him. Clearly I was going to be on my own for this one. So I went with the mystery white and ordered a smashlingly good Albarino for him(I waited and tasted after I thought I’d identified my mystery drink). I took a sip of mystery wine. First thought? NOT a chardonnay. It was a light, easy-going wine without a lot of depth or frankly, personality. Quaffable, but not complicated or oaky. So not a chardonnay. My guess was pinot grigio. Wrong! The sancerre? Nope. Third desperate try: a northern climate sauvignon blanc? Not even close.
The answer: A Chilean Chardonnay.
WTF?!! NO!!! Just….NO!
I felt like a huge loser. Fail!
HOWEVER! The truffle mac and cheese was we ordered was the delectable part of the evening and kept my spirits high. So there you go. A good mac and cheese saves the day.
One last note. On the way out the waitress confessed it was indeed an unusual Chardonnay. It was aged in a steel barrel. No oak. AHA! I felt much better hearing this. Validated. If it were a typical Chard and my taste buds couldn’t pick it up I’d feel pretty lame.
Anyway. Screw Chard. Get yourself a Sancerre. Love me some Loire valley goodness. Or an Albarino. Go Rioja region. Make this mac n cheese. Or if you are feeling lazy go to Bottlerock, get their truffle-y goodness, take the mystery wine challenge and let me know what wine shenanigans the staff is up to this week.

What is your favorite wine grape and region? Do tell.

Rotini and Cheese(adapted and healthified from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman love of my cookbook life)
1 1/4 cups skim milk
salt
bay leaf
8 oz. rotini
2 Tbsp. light smart balance
1 1/2 Tbsp. flour
1 cup grated cheese, your favorite(I used reduced fat)
freshly ground black pepper
1 piece of bread turned to crumbs(rip it up!)
Preheat oven to 400. Cook pasta just to al dente. Drain and rinse. In another small pot cook the milk and bay leaf on medium-low heat til little bubbles appear along the edge. Wait 5 minutes then turn off heat.
In yet another small pot melt the smart balance add flour and mash the stuff in like crazy, let mixture brown just a tiny bit then slowly, slowly add the milk(sans bay leaf, it’s done its job) and stir it up til smooth. Then stir in cheese.
Spray a 9×5 pan, put noodles in it, then mix in the sauce and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake til it looks like bubbly goodness. Consume. Sip Sancerre. Enjoy the good life. That would be my choice, anyway.

3.14159265358979…

That is, Pi. Which is, most importantly, a restaurant in St. Louis that serves pie. That is, pizza pie!
I was in my old hometown this weekend for the nuptials of the lovely Eleanor and the wedding food was brought in from Pi. Pi makes terrific deep dish(well they have thin crust too but I didn’t try it-crust is where it’s at!)pizza with a unique crust recipe including cornmeal. I had the Berkely, a deep dish with mozzarella, portobellas, onion, olives(that I picked off), bell peppers, garlic and zucchini. Phenomenal. But don’t take my word for it. Take our presidents. He loved it so much he’s had the chef flown in to cook it for White house staffers, and being as he is a Chicago man that says a lot. Go to Pi’s website
To learn how to get yourself some!