For the next week, I’ll be drinking beer, tasting Northwestern delicacies and doing my best to schmooze the sea of food professionals flocking to Downtown Portland. Some of the highlights I’m really looking forward to include a late-night discussion between Virgina Willis and Anne Willan, a food photography seminary put on by mattbites, and cocktails (nightly) with Nealey Dozier of Dixie Caviar. Hooray!
Every Easter weekend growing up, Mom and I celebrated with her circle of artist friends with an amazing feast. These women, weavers, sculptors, paper makers, fiber artists, taught me the beauty and thrill of making by hand. These stunning Easter eggs are a perfect example–the dramatic amber color comes from a dye of onion skins, saved from New Year’s day to April, and a resist technique creates the delicate graphic designs on the surface. As a little girl, I was responsible for picking ferns and leaves from the garden outside, while all the women in attendance had to bring their old stockings & nylons (pre-washed, please!) to sacrifice to the scissors. We use the delicate stretchy mesh to secure the leaves and petals on the eggs while they sit in the dye. Fishnets make some great chain-link designs, by the way. Instead of hiding these garnet-colored beauties, we proudly display them at each place setting to whet the appetite for the five course dinner to come. Here in Downtown LA, I not only lack a garden — I can’t even keep anything alive in my windowsill. However, I think I did pretty well with simple parsley leaves and the tops from carrots I got in my weekly CSA box, fresh from the farm.
What’s a malasada, you ask? Oh, let me tell you. A malasada is a kind of Portuguese donut–since it’s Portuguese, it’s amazingly rich with egg yolks and butter–that I’ve routinely overindulged in to the point of illness since I was 6 years old. Malasadas are a local favorite in Honolulu and, not to brag, but my high school’s recipe is legendary. Every February, the school puts on the Punahou Carnival and the fist-sized malasadas are sold by the thousands at the impressive price of 50₵ per donut. The Carnival supplies the scholarship fund for the school, so it isn’t much of an exaggeration to say that my education was sponsored by these rich, soft, sugary treats.
I mentioned a milestone a while back, and as promised, here comes the first of a string of event-based recipes. Here’s the deal–I’m getting married! We’re deep into the planning stage, and my mind is a flood of hors d’oeuvres, cocktail recipes, and other nice little yummy touches to make the guests feel welcome and make the day a memorable one for all.
As far as I’m concerned, a malasada means festivity and special occasion indulgence. So, I’m excited about this little beverage as a welcome-to-the-party/good-morning-sunshine for the bridal party. High quality Kona coffee is a hard thing to beat. Spiked with a bit of Kahlua or maybe some Bailey’s Irish Cream it’s a great way to begin a day of celebration. Garnished with miniature malasadas, could there be anything better?
So now I have a favor to ask you. We’re entered in a contest to win $100,000 for our dream wedding, of which these mini malasadas are a small (& essential) piece. We need you to vote!! The final round is decided by number of votes then after that it’s up to the judges, but we need your help to get there. Pretty please???
I’ll make you a dozen malasadas each if we make it to the finals–Promise!
For the past two years between work, blogging, and taking classes I’ve devoted my free time, such as it is, to a fantastic organization called Share Our Strength. Together, with chefs and cooks around the country, we’re working toward ending childhood hunger by 2015–an enormous task, but one that is just as vital as it is daunting. My contribution is as a member of the planning committee for Taste of the Nation, one of the largest fundraising arms of SOS.
Taste of the Nation LA is an awesome food festival event with 50 of the city’s best restaurants, mixologists, gastropubs and high-flying chefs, complete with demos, an auction, and all kinds of fun. 100% of the ticket sales go directly to Los Angeles area hunger-related charities like St. Joseph’s in Venice, Nancy Silverton’s Garden School Project, the LA Food Bank, and Operation Frontline’s LA chapter.
And here’s the best part! Through the end of March, you can use this discount code to get an INSANELY cheap ticket–I think you get general admission for $60, when last year at the door you paid $125. How sweet is that?! So buy a ticket, or 5, or 50. They’re your admission to a day of incredible food and fun, and a direct donation to hungry kids in our community. What’s not to love?
Milestone in the life of Christine! A good friend is here to celebrate with me this weekend, and we kicked off the day with champagne cocktails. Expect lots of canape experiments and beverage posts in the coming months.
Celebration Champagne Cocktails
Makes 12 cocktails
Using a mellon baller, scoop 3 small balls of lemon sorbet into each glass. Gently pour the champagne over the sorbet so that they float at the top, and sprinkle a pinch of mint over the top. Serve at once.
Tickets have officially gone on sale for Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation Los Angeles. Please buy yourself a ticket now, then forward on to all your friends! This year’s TOTN will be an awesome event, just take a look at all the amazing restaurants.. AND they might even still be adding a few more standouts from the LA scene as we speak.
See that? I just gave you a discount code for buying tickets! It’s the friends and family rate from participants and volunteers, so really, now you pretty much have to go.
Seriously, buy your tickets now, and use the friends & family discount code for a great deal on a whole afternoon of delicious food, refreshing beverages, and elbow-rubbing with the elite chefs & restauranteurs from the LA restaurant world. Buy the tickets, and way you won’t forget, and be so sad on June 14 when everyone else is having sorbetto from Gelato Bar and sliders from 8oz in the sunshine at Culver City Media Park while you’re at home watching tv and moping.
Also, be on the lookout for the website, www.tasteofthenationla.org to go live–it’ll feature some really fun content, chef updates, and lots of other good stuff leading up to the day of the event, so stay tuned!
Update: It’s live! Lots of awesome content already. Also, follow on twitter: @TOTNLA