JFLinLA

Don't know if they're in NYC but in California we also have Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf stores. Long before Starbucks launched their frappucino type drinks, CB&T was selling "ice-blendeds" all over the place. In addition to coffee flavors, you could order them in pure vanilla or pure chocolate. And, of course, you could also get a hot vanilla as well as a hot chocolate from them. I would get them for the kids when they were little. And they sell the stuff in the stores so you can make it at home. I'd either go buy that or go look at the ingredient list.

We're well into artichoke season here in sunny California. The other night, we had a delicious grilled artichoke at a restaurant. It was dressed simply with olive oil, lemon juice and some nice crunchy salt. I've always steamed or simmered artichokes but this seemed simple enough to make at home: trim, peel the stem, slice vertically, remove the choke, add a little olive oil & salt, & grill. Well, that didn't work. It was nicely charred but not really cooked. So eGulleteers, I need your thoughts. Do I par-steam or simmer & then grill? Should I more fully cook with water before grilling? Should I do the steaming before or after splitting the artichoke? Something else? And yes, these were full size globe artichokes and I know I can adjust the time depending on size.

And of course Matsuhisa on La Cienega, the one, the "only", the original.

Robyn -- Don't know why RJ hasn't responded. He's usually so good at these things. Without getting on a freeway, without even leaving BH, there are tons and tons of places and you won't need to touch steak. Within 5-7 miles, anything is possible. To the west is Santa Monica where Michael's is always considered a classic and then there's Melisse. Of course Valentino's is also a classic especially if you don't have to worry about budget and want an amazing wine cellar. A little south of there is Venice where I personally always like Joe's. Not as far west is San Vicente Boulevard in the Brentwood area with any number of Italian places including one of the Drago restaurants. There's another Drago on Wilshire in the West LA/Santa Monica area. Head east in some form or another for any of the great places along Beverly or Melrose (I recently opined about Angeli cafe on a the pizza thread which is probably not in the "upscale" category you are considering but it's great) or La Brea (can never go wrong at Campanile). And we haven't even discussed Koreatown or Culver City. I probably go for more casual/relaxed than you may be looking for but those are initial thoughts.

Again, can't vouch for authenticity but as long as we're touting Mozza and Angelini Osteria, let's not forget Angelli Cafe on Melrose. Don't get me wrong. Love Nancy Silverton and the rest but, while not as big of a star, Evan Kleiman has done wonderful things over the years for the LA food scene. I've never had a bad meal there. (And Evan is a star in her own right anyway.)

Sorry to disagree with LP but that area of Pico is actually pretty good for pedestrians. And, while I can't quite picture the stretch of Beverly Drive between Pico & Olympic in my head, once north of Olympic it's pretty good for peds all the way up to Santa Monica Boulevard.

Okay, first of all, you will be staying near Pico & Beverly DRIVE. That's the Beverly that runs north-south through Beverly Hills. Now, beyond walking and taxi's, LA (especially in that area) has pretty decent transit. No, the rail does not go there yet, but lots of bus service (RJ, you & I should have done better on this)/ The Metro Line 14 actually stops and ends its run at Pico & Beverly Drive. From there you can take it north to all the places in Beverly Hills I mentioned. If you want to stay on it, it will then head east along Santa Monica Boulevard before heading east (the streets angle) along Beverly BOULEVARD to the areas the RJ mentioned. At Beverly & 3rd, you're really close to the Original Farmer's Market, one of my favorite places. Or you can transfer at Wilshire with the best east-west bus service and head to Wilshire/La Brea where you are a short walk from Campanile Restaurant (for instance) or head to Wilshire/Fairfax and visit LACMA (Art Museum), or go to Wilshire/Western for any number of places in Korea Town, etc. Santa Monica Big Blue Bus also runs pretty good service along Pico which would take you west into Santa Monica which can be fun. Use the Metro Trip Planner online and be an urban adventurer.

If you're staying near Beverly & Pico, you are right in the heart of an area with a large Orthodox Jewish community. Factor's Deli on Pico is right near there. Also, you can probably get good falafel & the like in the area. If you're willing to walk, the next major street north of Pico is Olympic Boulevard. Once you pass Olympic you are in the area of Beverly Hills known as "South Beverly." Many restaurants and cafe's along there. And, if you keep going, you will cross Wilshire and will be in Beverly Hills' "Golden Triangle" where you will be not far from Spago's (which is not actually on Beverly Blvd. but close), Nate & Al's (another Jewish deli which is on Beverly Blvd.) and many other eateries in the heart of the BH business/retail district.

Will paper towels work instead of cheese cloth? Any other possible substitute? I have cheese cloth garni bags - but not too many potatoes will fit in those . And I don't want to send my husband out to Williams Sonoma at 10 tomorrow morning to pick up a square yard of cheese cloth (I need him to help me peel potatoes!). Robyn P.S. Coarse or fine shredder blade? ← I just put my potato shreds into a sieve over a bigger bowl. Then squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. Put the shreds back into whatever bowl you are using to mix, pour off the water left in the bowl and, using a rubber spatula, scrape the potato starch left in the bottom of the bowl. If you prefer, you can discard the water and starch and just you the shreds. The size of shredder blade you use is up to you. Personally, I would choose a medium or coarse one.

My only concern is that you said there will be kids there. Some will and some won't be happy with a "fancy" adult-type fruity dessert. Could you do something where some things are lemon or orange, and some things are chocolate? Think 2 kinds of mousse, or do the filo thing both in chocolate and some in citrus. The thought that came to my mind (though not very fancy) is thumbprint cookies -- some filled with curd and some filled with ganache. You get the idea.

Cook's Library to Close I love this place but I guess it is increasingly impossible in this day and age. For the short term, however, there are bargains to be had.

Well, let's see. I made yeasted dough with many, many fillings -- poppy, prune, apricot, blueberry, raspberry, Nutella, pecan-caramel, almond. I made the poppy and pecan caramel fillings, the rest were from jars or cans. I also made chocolate dough with apricot or cherry or Nutella filling. I made the gingerbread dough but even with a lot of flour and rolling between parchment, it completely shredded when I pulled the parchment apart. I've got more in the fridge but may try again. Good Jewish mom that I am, I made a batch a week ago Sunday and put them in the mail last Monday to the kid in college on the other coast. Even paid extra to have them delivered faster. He didn't get them till yesterday, the following Monday. Very frustrating but suspect the problem is with the college mail room. He said they were good and they've completely disappeared already. The larger batch I made this weekend was many, many dozens. Way more than we can eat. So, my kid still at home is taking them to school this week and the bulk of them were shared and enjoyed around the office. I do this every year. Swear to myself that I've overdone it and will not do it again but then the year goes by and, well, you know the rest. No, I didn't take pictures. Now, on to thinking about Passover baking . . .

There's also El Cholo on Wilshire which is more of what most "Gringo's" think of as a Mexican restaurant. Big loud bar in the evenings, big margaritas, lot's of various tortilla combos (burrito, enchiladas, tacos, etc.) served with beans & rice, etc. It's on Wilshire but I suspect RJ's suggestions are closer to where the movie will show given the abundance of screens on 2nd and 3rd Street in Santa Monica.

I know how I'm spending my weekend. You?

Nutty for Nutella This article in the LA Times food section inspired me to revive this thread. If you are a Nutella addict, or even just a regular fan, you will enjoy it. Great looking recipes including how to make your very own.

Why not keep it local? Since you're in the Bay Area, and don't want Ghiradelli, how about Guittard? Or Scharffenberger?

King Arthur Flour catalog has it here in 3 versions depending on which KA mixer you have.

Perhaps I should post this somewhere else since it's not really about California Cooking & Baking but it is about See's. What do you all think about the original See's candy building? Fighting to Save the Original See's Candy Building I actually was once fortunate enough to get a tour of the facility on La Cienega but not the original one.

Haven't gotten my hands on the book yet but I've taken 3 or 4 classes from Cindy over the years and like her very much.

So rather than starting a new thread, I thought it might be appropriate to switch the topic from rodents in the kitchen to insects. Moths in my case. I had to clean out a bunch of stuff from my cabinet over the weekend where I keep my baking supplies. I've got sealed plastic canisters (tupperware type things but not that) for my various flours and sugar. Other things are in boxes (corn starch, baking soda, etc.) that are then in zip-lock bags. Most these were OK. However, I had some things in the plastic or cello bags they came in that had been opened, partially used, and then reclosed by yours truly by folding over a few times and closing with a small binder clip or the like. This is mostly what I had to trash. Luckily all the chocolate was good. Now that I've cleaned the cabinet well, inspected everything, trashed what needed to be trashed, ensured the remaining stuff is fine and well-sealed, what else can I do to repel the moths in a food-safe way?

No, Alanamoana. I live in LA and know about Benes bakery. I remember getting stuff from them as far back as when they only had their own shop on 3rd Street near Cedars-Sinai hospital, before they began selling also though Gelsons. If memory serves (an iffy proposition), ambra is not looking for a ganache filling -- even a light one. I do believe it's more of a chocolate whipped cream and then chocolate shavings on top. Darn, I'll need to find an excuse to run over and check it out.

Azurite -- Another one of my favorite places downtown is Cafe Pinot. It's located in the lovely McGuire Gardens at the Central Library. That's on Flower Street at 5th, just 1 block east of your hotel and 2-3 blocks up. The gardens are gorgeous and, if you're lucky, you can sit outside and enjoy lovely LA weather -- even in November. You also get good food from one of the Joachim Splichal restaurants and you can visit our Central Library which is worth poking around in to see the old part (restored after a fire) and the new part which I think was added on after the fire in a great way. Of course, if you want the Splichal flag ship, you can head to the Disney Concert Hall a few more blocks uphill in the Bunker Hill portion of downtown and dine at Patina but, I've not eaten there.

Just to clarify one thing from Russ, Langer's is the best for pastrami and the rye bread is to die for. However, they are closed for dinner and I believe they are closed on Sunday's. Other places close by your hotel you may like are Engine Company 28 (obviously an old fire station) just across Figueroa from your hotel. There's also an Italian restaurant on the north side of 7th street just a 1/2 block east of the hotel. Sorry, I'm drawing a blank on the name right now. Also, one day, walk south on Figueroa a few blocks to "The Original Pantry" for old, old LA. Not fancy but basic stick to your ribs food. I enjoy meeting people for breakfast there.

Hey, we used the 7 species for centerpieces for my son's Bar Mitzvah which was right around Shavuot. They were gorgeous. We actually used dried pomegranates and had them left over a few months later to hand in the Sukkah.

Cake -- Just sent you a detailed PM. Tell you what, once you experiment with these, perfect them and make them your own, then you can post the recipe for all of us to see and we won't have to worry about the copyright. Mazel Tov and Shanah Tovah. Jody