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Shakshuka!

Posted by francesz in cooking, food and tagged with , , , , , ,

My brother sent me this recipe/video from the NY Times and I had to make it! I was home visiting my mom for Mother’s Day and pulled together my own version of Shakshuka, a classic Middle Eastern dish. Boy was it delicious!

shakshuka

Ingredients:
- 1 chopped onion
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne (or similar hot spice)
- 3 or 4 small chopped peppers
- 1 chopped medium tomato
- 1 small can tomato paste
- 1 small can tomato sauce
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 8 eggs
- salt & pepper
- hot sauce (for serving)

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat oil over medium/low heat, add onions and peppers and cook until soft. Add garlic and cook til tender, then add cumin, paprika and cayenne. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce and cook for 10-15 minutes. Season with Salt and Pepper.

Crack 6-8 eggs over tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven for 7-10 minutes until eggs are set.

Serve with hot sauce and enjoy!

BLD Brunch

Posted by francesz in food, los angeles and tagged with , , , , , ,

BLD is a little foodie haven that never disappoints.

Located on Beverly Blvd close to the Grove, they serve up one of the best brunches in town with no pretentiousness. The wait for a table is usually around 30 minutes – I don’t think they take reservations for small parties but it is always worth it. I had the strawberry cream cheese french toast (graham cracker crumbs, whipped vanilla cream cheese, fresh strawberries) and my lovely date had the breakfast hash (fried eggs, bacon, shaved yukon gold potatoes,
bell peppers, onions, hollandaise.)

I thought the french toast would be too sweet for me – but it was so delicious I got through a good 3/4s of the it before giving up. They have 4 types of bloody marys, my drink of choice was the original “granny mary.”

I think I need to go back there today.

bldphoto

BEP Vietnamese Kitchen

Posted by francesz in Uncategorized and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Today I tried the BEP Vietnamese Kitchen Brunch – a pop-up just a hop, and a skip away from home.

Connie Tran is the chef (Zov’s in Tustin, Cafe D’Orient in Orange) and she serves up 8-course bi-weekly brunches at Franco on Melrose. It’s BYOB and there was a wine pairing list sent over yesterday to go with our meal.

My favorite dishes were the soup (bun rieu: minced crab & egg dumplings, tofu cafe, vermicelli in tamarand tomato broth served with threaded water spinach, bean sprouts, red cabbage, lemon balm) and the ice cream sandwich (ca rem dua: coconut lime ice cream, chili sesame cookies). There was also a spam sandwich (don’t hate- it was delish!), bo la lot: grilled beef wrapped in betel leaf, and cha ca thanh long: turmeric catfish, wilted dill, scallions.

Reservations are made via email and if you’re late you’ll miss any food that has already been served – so don’t be! They also have a little “market” that has Pho ingredients, Viet Ice Coffee ingredients and t-shirts that say Hon the cook (kiss the cook!).

bep

 

ps: hey guys, i’m back after an accidental vacation. :)

The Ritz-Carlton Spa, LA Live

Posted by francesz in all things pretty, los angeles

I had a 50-minute signature facial at the beautiful Ritz Carlton Spa @ LA Live on Friday and the place was incredible. It’s a little haven in the busy downtown area.

You’re greeted in their reception/spa shop area (where they call you Ms. {insert last name here} for the entire stay) and they escort you back to the gorgeous locker rooms that have all the amenities. The place was empty and I got the locker rooms/steam room/sanctuary (as they call it) to myself.

The steam room is gigantic and clean (!). They leave cucumbers and iced washcloths out for when you use the steam room. So lovely.

My facial was relaxing and my skin feels as good as new! The only painful part is the necessary extractions. Ouch. I will definitely be back and highly recommend this spa.

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