Chinatown Aglow

Saturday night in Chinatown:

While all the hipster art kids hop from gallery to gallery in Chinatown,
the locals collect their empty Tecate cans and place them into their
recycling bags, to take the center and cash in...

I still am not 100% certain on what the focus of my blog is exactly...I just write about things I do, things I like and things I want to do.
This weekend I went to Chinatown for a few art openings, one of which was at the Fifth Floor Gallery where William Stranger's Second Life exhibition is on view. The artist works on a sustainability platform as well as with the idea that he is saving, in this instance, a floor that would otherwise be thrown away by creating two wall hangings and also a functional table out of the reclaimed wood, thus breathing into it a second life. These are "nice" in a design and furniture kind of way, but I felt like he could have made these so much more meaningful. The most interesting aspect of the wall hangings were the scuffs made from the hundreds of bowling shoes that marched their way down to the arrows before releasing that big ball down the lane into the pins. The finished pieces were too lacquered, too pristine, and the scuffs, rivets and what would be holes were filled in by either the maintenance department of the bowling alley or more likely the artist himself. Being a furniture maker I am assuming, perhaps wrongfully so, that Stranger just didn't try or have the forethought to really expose and archive these salvaged lanes as they should be (weathered and worn) as artwork and not as a function of design or furniture. It is risky business to step away from what you know...it requires courage and the ability to completely rip apart your old ways of doing things, but in the end its worth it.

Brunch Bunch

There's something to be said about the presence of autumn in Los Angeles. Its subtle. Sometimes in the earliest morning hours if you go outside you can smell a hint of slight deterioration in the crisp autumn air. I also think that the right foods can really push the end of summer right into fall, which is why I made these savory apple turnovers.

Apple turnovers are just saturated with the sense of fall. I started with dried apples, cherries and currants and blended them in a food processor along with 5-6 leaves of basil. I made apple sauce the day before- which is surprisingly easy- and mixed it together with the above ingredients and voila there's your filling, an ambrosial delight. Next time I'll use more basil as its aroma is bigger than its taste, and these could afford to have a bigger basil kick to the taste buds.

Sunday brunch spread:
prosciutto wrapped melon
goat cheese & scallion quiche
gruyere & chard quiche w/almond crust
arugula, frisee, red-leaf, strawberry & walnut salad w/chevre
apple turnovers w/cherries, currants & basil
Rachel's "should be famous" bloody marys
coffee with sweetened condensed milk

Beautiful food with beautiful friends, although there were a few missing significant ingredients*
this morning was just about perfect.

Sunday Sunday

Sunday Brunch....Its one of my favorite things to do. Whether its going out to a lovely french bistro or staying in and cooking up something special at home, I love brunch! I do. I do. Tomorrow is my first Sunday back in Los Angeles, and I thought nothing could be finer than inviting a few friends over for a mid-day feast of some recipes that I've been wanting to try for some time now.

We will start with a little end of summer salad and prosciutto wrapped honeydew, followed by two kinds of quiche- one goat cheese based, the other gruyere, and finishing up with an herbed twist on good old fashioned turnovers.

Tonight was filled with preparation, including making the goat cheese and scallion quiche. The flavors of this will be completely palette pleasing :
The crust for starters, is a non-traditional hash brown layer with some fresh thyme leaves sprinkled into the mixture. This is baked to allow for it to set, while its baking you begin the egg mixing the egg filling. There's nothing better than a smooth, soft chevre. It could/should be the death of me- I've been eating some almost everyday...Fortunately with quiche one doesn't need a lot of cheese. This recipe in particular has half and half, sour cream and chevre and the scallions that are sprinkled on top add a bit of color as a garnish, but also add a mellow onion flavor that will go nicely with the creamy base.

This quiche is like a souffle, and although it cracked a tiny bit, it still looks to die for.

I am excited to taste how this came out. Tomorrow there is much work to do, but I secretly can't wait to see how my apple turnovers will turn out. I am adding fresh basil to the filling and I have a hunch that its going to be good. Real good.