Mac Attack, Southern Invasion aka "How Not to Host the Tartelette"

Boy and Girls, Ladies and Gentlemen: Let this be a step by step tutorial for you on how NOT to host the Tartelette.

It all started when I went to pick her up from the airport - clutching my camera in one hand and my [work] crackberry in the other.  As I waited for Helen to arrive into the baggage claim area, I was neurotically checking my crackberry.  Somehow, that wiley cat managed to slip right by me.  Funny how that happens when one isn't paying attention.  After playing phone tag for a few minutes I finally found her and my opportunity to take a photo of her as she walked in tanked.

Sierra, world's cutest puppy

We were blessed to be invited to Todd and Diane's from White on Rice Couple's home for dinner but it was still 1:00pm and we were starving. So we get into the car and head down to Hermosa Beach to check out the beautiful Pacific Ocean.  I hoped to find some great, clever dining option but the first place I found was Hennessey's.  If you know ANYTHING about Hennessey's you'll know it's an Irish Pub...you know...the kind where they serve really greasy Quesadillas?  That's where I took the Tartelette.  I mean...the Macaron Celeb. One of FORBE'S magazine's Eight of the Very Best Food Bloggers.  Uh huh.  I took THE Tartelette there.

Oh but WAIT.  My First Class treatment doesn't end there!!  The next day we headed off to Matt and Adam's studio.  Did I stop for coffee or breakfast? No, of course not.  Why ruin the beginning of a really bad track record with some hospitality?  After we were wowed by Matt and Adam's awesome prop room [Geez, I'm still hoping that nothing accidentally fell into my very large purse] we decided to check out Hollywood.

I had been promising Helen some Korean Hot Pot and all kinds of ethnic foods for weeks.  So naturally, that really had to take precedence into our meal plans.  So on our way to Hollywood, I took her to Umami Burger.  You know...the place where they serve BURGERS??  I find out that Helen hadn't had a burger in 15 years [probably with GOOD reason] but she's so freaking gracious that she said that she really enjoyed it. I would've smacked me into next week, if I were her.

That evening was our tweet up at The Yard.  Chef CJ [the tallest man in the world] came by with a delicious bite of burrata cheese, snap peas, and puree.  Great happy hour and great happy hour nibblies!  Thanks to Erika, Kate, Giselle, Patti, Sonja, Kathy, and Remil for attending!

We were so busy chit chatting with everyone that we realized that we hadn't really eaten dinner.  Inspiration struck - I decided that Helen, Gaby, Sonja, Remil, and I were heading to the taco truck, El Paladar Oaxaqueño, our first ethnic meal of the trip.  Lengua [tongue], Cabeza [head/cheek meet] were our choice for tacos.

Classes went well the following day [with the exception of MY macs but that's a whole other story] but after class, we were starving.  Unfortunately, it was 11:30pm and nothing  in the area was open.  NOTHING except for The Kettle, a 24 hour join in Manhattan Beach...the place where I spent many college late night meals.  I hated it when I was in college and I re-discovered that I still hated it. 

So, in case you missed it, let's have a replay:

1. Helen had to run around the airport looking for me.

2. I promised ethnic foods.  I take her to greasy bar food, a burger joint, or just plain nothing at all.
3. I took her to a taco truck for ethnic food.
4. I didn't give Helen a chance to eat any breakfast on any day.
5. I took her to a dive - a place that i didn't care for, even back in college, for a late night dinner.

But wait, it doesn't end there...to top off the entire week, I dropped her off at the wrong terminal [it was a code share flight] causing her to MISS HER FLIGHT.

Please take a look at the above steps and understand what you should never do when inviting Helen to your city.  Did I mention how gracious Helen was throughout the entire week?  Her schedule is booking up quickly so I suggest you get her in to your city as quickly as possible. But please...don't be a boneheaded hostess like I was. Oh...and if I invite YOU to Los Angeles, you may want to think twice about it.

Stay tuned for Part II of the Tartelette's Class...

Santa Monica

I don't really like to leave my house.  I live a very comfortable life as a hermit and am quite happy to hunker down for an entire weekend in my jammies.  I do, however, like going to farmer's markets.  Every Saturday morning, I go to the Santa Monica Farmer's Market on Arizona to pick up my produce for the week.

I decided to change up my Saturday morning routine by stopping off at the beach and Will Rogers State Historic Park before my trip to the Market.  My grandpa used to love taking me to the beach and park.  It was one of my most fondest memories that I have of the time I spent with my grandpa.

As I walked across the bridge over the homeless person on my way to the beach, I mentally noted to myself that there was a reason why the area smelled so rank and foul. Someone took a dump near the bridge. I was very happy to see the light at the end of this particular tunnel.  I don't know why I was so excited to see this ugly "light" at the end of the the tunnel but I just loved the repeating curves. I was fascinated by it.

I used to love riding the waves with my grandpa holding on to me to make sure I didn't float off to sea.  I really wanted to jump into the water but was afraid of the toxic bacteria after our first rain of the season - my feet would probably fall off. As it was, I just sat there listening to the waves crashing on the sand.  I forgot how soothing that sound really was.  It was slowly lulling me to sleep so I decided it was time for me to get to my next destination.

I've been wanting to go to Will Rogers State Historic Park all summer but just couldn't get the energy together to make it there.  It's now $12 to park your car.  But it supports WRSHP so I say go for it.  I'd hate to see this place close down.  There are a few different trails that you can take.  I've done all of them at one point or another - some harder than others.  I'm amazed that my grandpa, even in his 80's would come hiking here for exercise.  Wow.

My out of shape @$$ somehow made it up to Inspiration Point.  Looking at the photo below, I'm still trying to figure out WHY this is supposed to be inspirational. Yes, yes...i KNOW it's underfunded and all that but really - this is how it always looked.  The views on a clear day are still "meh".  I sat down on the bench soaking in the peace, waiting for inspiration to strike, munching on my bagel when a group of runners made it up to the point.  I was annoyed, not by the noise or disruption of my peace, but because those people were RUNNING UP THE HILL. Show offs.

Both of these FREE activities are highly recommended if you happen to be in the Los Angeles area.  

Will Rogers State Historic Park
1501 Will Rogers Park Road
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
310-454-8212

Santa Monica Public Parking Spots

Macarons - 3, Jenny - 0

My latest quest to feed my Type A [but inherently lazy] personality is to figure out how the heck to make a macaron. I hate paying $2.00 +/- for each cookie so I figured, I'm a smart girl...I can LEARN how to make it. I used David Lebovitz's recipe for the French Chocolate Macarons with instructions from My Tartelette in Desserts Magazine. The only thing I added was infusing the powdered sugar with lavendar. For the filling, I used a pomegranate curd recipe that I found on LisaMichelle's website.

Sadly, as you can see from the photo above, my first batch came out miserable - cracked cookie, no "foot" [tasted great - looked sad]. Luckily, my co-workers were all Macaron virgins and I was able to dump that batch on them [as I do most of my failed projects]! That miserable single attempt at Macarons started me on my quest to figure out how to make a macaron. [In spite of someone's facebook comment to me, "why make it when you can buy it??" clearly he doesn't realize the depth of my stubborness, cheapness...or unwillingness to be beaten by a baked good]

After questioning some co-workers who are enrolled in various pastry classes throughout the city, I decided to try out Gourmandise Desserts class. Gourmandise Desserts operates out of two locations - one in Venice and another in Culver City at Surfas. The class I took was based in Venice at the St Josephs's Center, which operates a non profit culinary training program during the day. I arrived 20 minutes early to find our instructor, Clemence, in a flurry of activity prepping for the class. Clemence is not a classically trained pastry chef but is just a fount of information. My ultimate goal is to understand the CHEMISTRY behind baking and that woman has that knowledge in her head and is more than willing to share her knowledge not only in her classes but her "hotline" as well! She welcomes us to call her with any questions we may have! Her warm hospitality drew me in and set the tone for the class.

Keeping in mind that I had read the detailed instructions by Helen of my tartelette, who said that people were shocked to find how aggressive she was with mixing her batch, I still couldn't picture how aggressive and how much it needed to be broken down. I was shocked when I saw Clemence go to town on it. "but...but...what if you overmix it?" I asked in hushed tones. She took my stupid comment with all seriousness and said, "just watch. you'll learn and know by the end of tonight how much to mix and how to tell when it's done."

Indeed we each had an opportunity to process, whip, beat, combine, and pipe the little bites of deliciousness. "Who here feels like they can go home and make this on their own??" she asked, scanning the class with her bright blue eyes. i slowly raised my hand half way up...then set it back down. Hey, i may FEEL like i can do it but let's keep in mind that I also feel like i can finish a triathlon in a month. clearly sock smoking runs rampant in my life.

There's no better way to test myself on my macarons baking ability than to just do it....

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Ok. back. Just did TWO batches and...well, disaster. Last time I checked, macarons should not spread...all. over. the. place. stay tuned. I gave up tonight but i have not given up the battle. GRRRRR.

WLA Obon

Normally, I avoid the Obon season like the black plague. I hate running into people I haven't seen in years...mostly because I can place a face, but not always a name to a face. Oh and the small talk. I hate the small talk. It's always the same: "So, how are you?" [Fine]; followed by, "What have you been up to??" [ummm...not much...work...travel...enjoying life...]; followed by "so do you have kids? married?" [someday I will say, yes, 7 kids, all with different fathers but not married to any of them, just to see their expressions]

Obon in Japan, is the celebration/honoring the departed spirits of my ancestors [not just mine...]. It's typically celebrated around August 15th and I will inevitably get a call from my family in Japan as they gather to participate in Ohakamaeri to clean the graves and honor the deceased. What follows after usually consists of food, sake, and if the timing is just perfect, a trip to the Obon. In the US, it's about gathering around and seeing people you haven't seen in years, eating, dancing, and playing games.

Here's the thing, two of the most adorable kids came over to attend the WLA Obon and I just couldn't say no. Look at them...could YOU?

Another reason I do like to go is to eat [shocker, I know]. I slurped up my udon so fast I didn't have time to take a photo of it, otherwise, I'm sure I would've added that to the photos below. The teriyaki chicken leg was surprisingly moist unlike the dried out chicken I get from other carnivals.

Ok, let me be super honest...the real reason I like going is for the item below. Shave Ice. I love this simple, cheap summertime treat. It's super easy to do but it's such a treat for me since I refuse to buy a snow cone maker.

I thought about breaking out my alter ego, Fujima Yumie, to dance bon odori [I can teach anyone who's interested!] but it was way too crowded for me to have enough patience to deal with it. Plus, they took out all my stand by dances that I used to know!! What on earth? Granted, it was super easy, just not as much fun as I remembered.

Incidentally, I did go back for another Snow Cone on Sunday. It was just too tempting to pass up.

learn something new...

I went to the Farmers Market on Sunday after church. I like going to my small neighborhood farmers market because of one vendor in particular who sells a lot of asian vegetables. There's always something interesting or new that I find there. This week was no different.

At the market, I was introduced to the peculiar fruit pictured above. It's called the Jujube. It has the consistency and taste of an apple. The browner it is the better the fruit tastes. Some medicinal purposes include alleviating stress and relieving sore throats. Very interesting item.

The other thing I tried for the first time was fresh dates (drupe). It was SO yummy. Tons of sugar in it, I'm sure!! It has the taste of a dried date but with a fresher, almost apricot-like consistency! Some medicinal uses for this fruit include having cleansing power for intestinal troubles, sore throat, fever reliever, and may even counteract alcohol intoxication (i'll let you know...).

Last new thing I tried was Casa Sanchez on Centinela Avenue near Mar Vista/Marina del Rey. It got 11 thumbs down (my whole family went to this place). The food was horrible. My chicken was dry, the spanish rice tasted like it was cooked in chicken broth only, the flavor had no punch or distinguishing aspect to it. The entrees were priced between $18 - $25. Way too high for what it was worth. Added to the was the Mariachi Band (which plays from Thursday - Sunday nights). They were great and talented but TOO loud for such a small space. Unnecessary speakers put up everywhere made conversation a joke. Most people had their hands over their ears to block some noise (didn't help much). I say, go, if you dare but it's not worth it.