Jul/0939
Dan’s Green Chile Burger
a perfect burger
Oh the yum. A little spicy, but not too much. Keep the guac cool (don’t add jalapenos, even if you normally do!) to offset extra heat from the chiles.
These were so good that we had them 2 nights in a row. You’ll end up with a little extra chile sauce and guac, so if you have extra beef, too - save the extra ingredients just in case you want them the next night, too!
Here’s what he did:
Green Chile Sauce
1 poblano, 1 anaheim and 1 serano chile roasted, peeled, seeds removed and then diced
2 tsp water
salt and pepper to taste
Gently pulse ingredients in a food processor for 10 seconds, until sauce is still chunky but has a saucy texture. Taste it before you serve it! Fresh chiles vary in heat.
Guacamole
2 ripe but firm avocados, mashed coarsely (still chunky)
1/2 of a white onion, finely diced
4 tbsp chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
Combine ingredients well in a large bowl.
Burgers
1lb 22% ground beef at room temp
salt and pepper
2 slices jack cheese
2 slices cheddar cheese
2 fresh onion buns, toasted
Very gently combine the beef and seasoning, with as little mixing as possible to incorporate the salt and pepper into the beef. Form 2 thick 1/2 lb burger patties.
On a pre-heated skillet, toast the buns, then set aside in a warmed toaster oven to keep warm. In the same pre-heated skillet, cook the burger patties for 4 minutes per side for medium rare, adding a slice of each cheese to the patties when flipped.
Place the guac on the bottom bun, then a patty, some chile sauce and then the bun on top.
Serve with chips and dip or fries, or just some coke on ice. Enjoy!
Jul/09205
Riviera Restaurant and Lounge, Calabasas
Written by Cris, Special Contributor
Located in the Babies-R-Us shopping center in Calabasas, this casually elegant destination was just the place to celebrate a recent birthday. I found it as I was looking for the phone number of an all-time favorite, Tuscany il Ristorante, in Westlake Village. They are both owned by Tommaso Barletta, also owner of Rustico in Oak Park. With that kind of reputation preceding it, I was counting on my friend Elisa being in for a treat.
We were not disappointed as we sampled a number of dishes and stuffed ourselves silly. I couldn’t resist ordering the Frito Misto with a spicy tomato sauce for starters, it was just as crisp and delicious, with a squirt of lemon, as we’d had at Tuscany. This is probably the only fried dish any of us would ever order, and very few places make it as tasty and grease-free as they do (Galetto is a close second, but theirs is strictly calamari, which is not a bad thing).
We really wanted a glass of wine, but hesitated knowing a siesta was not in our near future. The waitress graciously offered to split a Chardonnay three ways, and right there we knew the service and staff would shine as they do at Tomasso’s other restaurants.
Deciding what to order presented a challenge, so many things sounded so good. After listening to their specials in detail twice, my friend Polly settled on the Nicoise Salad with Seared Yellowtail Tuna. I had to assume she liked it since she cleaned her plate leaving nothing behind. Elisa chose the Roasted Lamb, Grilled Eggplant and Roasted Bell Pepper sandwich, served with these skinny, super crispy fries. Lucky me, she shared it with me. I ordered the Cioppino of Fresh Seafood, knowing that my friends would love to taste it. I remembered having this at Rustico, a huge assortment of seafood so well seasoned and prepared I had had a hard time not eating it all despite the fact it easily serves two. It was, as were all the dishes, more than you’d expect for a lunch portion, and plenty to share between two, especially if ordering an appetizer, or if wanting room for dessert.
This we agreed to skip this time, realizing we had shamelessly enjoyed every bite of our meals. However the waitress surprised us with a lovely dish of rich vanilla ice cream surrounded by berries with a birthday candle on top. Not wanting to be rude, we managed to share it making it the perfect ending to a very nice luncheon with special friends.
Riviera Restaurant and Lounge
23683 Calabasas Rd
Calabasas, CA 91302
818-224-2163
Sunday-Thursday for 30% OFF on the
total check for Happy Hour in the Lounge from 4PM-7PM!!
Lunch Hours
Monday-Friday: 11:30 - 2:30
Dinner Hours
Monday-Thursday: 5:00 - 10:00
Friday-Saturday: 5:00 - 10:30
Sunday: 5:00 - 10:00
Jul/090
Salads and healthy snacks
I like eating healthy, but find it difficult to do all the time because I just don’t crave all that healthy stuff, like wheat and greens and apparently, quinoa (disasterous quinoa experience the other night, I’ll try it again later). So I’ve developed a few tricks to fool myself into eating better on a regular basis. I keep healthy staples on-hand (and very few no-no items) and put them together in ways that do taste delicious to me. Here are my tricks, hope you can use them.
Arugula and Goat Cheese Salad
1. I keep greens around. I feel too guilty to let them go bad (though there are some weeks I let it slip), so I force myself to whip together a small salad for lunch. Here’s my favorite salad combo that’s super easy to make and really tastes great. Sub any of the items for your favorite type of greenery, nut, fruit, soft cheese, etc.
Arugula and Goat Cheese Salad
Arugula
Goat Cheese
Pecans
Dried tart cherries
Sesame Miso Dressing (or any dressing on the healthier side - you know, low-cholesterol, low-fat, etc.) This particular miso dressing, by Follow Your Heart, is also preservative and dairy-free, and tastes like it has bacon in it, it’s so delicious.
2. I make snack mixes, aka trail mixes. Dan loves these and so does Ryan. I follow suit, because I eat what I’m making them for snack!
Easy Snack Mix
unsalted, unsweetened nuts
unsweeted dried fruit
pretzels
plain or multi-grain cheerio-type cereal
and because you need a little sweetness, a few chocolate chips (dark are healthier) or Annie’s Bunny Graham Friends
Jul/090
Jenna’s Cream Cheese Pastries
These scrumptious little things are dangerously good, especially with my strawberry jam. If you make them small enough, you could probably pop a dozen or so in your mouth in a few minutes and then you won’t feel so good about yourself, now will you? Make them for a bake sale or a party and people will adore you. Jenna became my hero in 6th grade because of these little devils.
Cream Cheese Pastries with Strawberry Jam
(credit goes to Jenna Blackford)
You’ll dirty just: 1 mixing bowl, the beater or 1 wooden spoon, 1 measuring cup, 1 baking sheet
4 Tablespoons of room-temp butter
4 oz of cream cheese (1/2 cup)
3/4 c sifted all purpose flour
6 Tablespoons of your favorite preserves or jam
Blend cream cheese, butter and flour thoroughly til mixture forms soft dough. Be sure to incorporate all the cream cheese into the flour - you don’t want any clumps of cheese.
Place dough on large sheet of wax paper; cover with second sheet. Roll dough 1/8 inch thick between the two sheets. Chill in fridge for 20 minutes.
Heat oven to 425.
Peel off wax paper. Cut dough into 2 inch squares. Spread 1/2 teaspoon jam on each square. Fold corners to middle; overlap ends and pinch together very well. The jam will fight its way out, so secure those edges well.
Place on ungreased sheet. Bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly before removing from baking sheet.
Jul/0929
a favorite chocolate treat
If Dan’s been particularly sweet to me, or if I’m just in a lovey mood, I’ll splurge and buy him a 5 Star Chocolate Bar by Lake Champlain Chocolates at Whole Foods. They’re not cheap — $3.49 for a 1.8 oz bar. But they are oh-so-good. They’re made by hand, and the Peanut one is the best — the peanut butter is smooth and creamy and has chunks of peanuts and crisp rice all coated in a very smooth milk chocolate. But don’t keep it in the fridge like I did last night. It’s way better at room temp.
Get one for your honey the next time you’re even remotely near Whole Foods. 
Jul/090
Banana Nut Bread
Banana bread has long been a favorite of mine. My grandma Barbara used to make it with me all the time (when I was very little she’d let me mash the bananas and that was the coolest thing ever). The smell of it baking in the house is unbeatable. I can’t wait til it’s cooled to eat it - I always cut into it within a few minutes and eat at least a few slices right away.
This recipe is a standard for me - I adapted it from a number of recipes with twice or three times as much sugar and butter. I wouldn’t reduce those items anymore, personally, but I guess it could be done! But why, it’s already bread!
Banana Nut Bread
3 ripe bananas (the riper, the moister the bread!)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
2 oz. butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Cooking spray for the baking dish
Preheat oven to 375°F
Sift flour and baking soda together and reserve.
In another bowl, stir sugar, eggs, vanilla, and butter until well incorporated. Add flour, and stir until smooth.
Mash bananas with a fork and stir into batter. Then add nuts and stir well.
Coat a loaf pan with spray (or other baking dish if you don’t have a loaf pan) and pour in batter. Bake for about 45 minutes. The banana bread is cooked when the tip of a knife comes out clean and dry (although it will come out wet if you’ve stabbed a banana!).
Let cool off for about ten minutes and then remove from baking dish.
Jul/090
Super easy beef and veggie meatballs for the kids
Like most toddlers at some point, Ryan is going through a “food phase”. He’s barely eating anything currently. Just a month ago, we were bragging about how he’d eat anything, and a lot of it.
But one thing he still loves to eat is beef - burgers, meatballs - especially with ketchup. So I decided to hide some veggies in meatballs tonight, and they turned out rather deliciously, if I do say so myself. He loved them, and gobbled up three in no time!
Beef and Veggie Meatballs
1/2 lb of beef at room temperature (we use 22% because they make such juicy burgers, but anything’ll do)
1/2 cup veggies (I used frozen corn, peas and brussel sprouts, but of course the possibilities are endless)
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat an iron pan (or if you don’t have one, a non-stick pan with a little cooking spray).
Toss the veggies into a small food processor or blender and chop until very fine. Incorporate all the ingredients in a bowl and form into 1-inch balls (I was able to get 14 meatballs).
Cook the meatballs over medium heat, turning every 2-3 minutes, until all sides are browned and the center of one that you cut into reveals that it is cooked completely, about 10-12 minutes. If you’re going to freeze them all, undercook them just slightly, so that when you reheat them in the microwave, they don’t overcook.
I refrigerated half and froze the other for future meals!
Jul/090
No-pectin small-batch Strawberry Jam
This jam is great on french toast and waffles - ask my little guy, Ryan! It’s his favorite condiment after ketchup! I don’t prepare mine for shelving because it doesn’t last that long around here, and honestly it just seems like a project that I don’t have time for. This recipe is super quick and it’s fun, really. It will last for about two weeks in the fridge.
No-pectin small-batch Strawberry Jam
3 cups sliced strawberries
1 cup sugar
2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice (depending on your taste)
Put a small plate in the freezer. You’ll use this to test the thickness of the jam.
Put all the ingredients in a large, wide saucepan over medium heat. You want to ensure maximum water loss from the strawberries in as little time as necessary, and the wide pan helps with this. Stirring slowly, bring the strawberries to a boil (mine usually take about 8-10 minutes to boil). After they’ve been boiling for 2 or so minutes, test the liquid part by putting a small spoonful on the cold plate. This will show you the thickness after it has cooled. If it’s thick enough for your taste, take it off the heat now. I let mine go for a total of about 15 minutes on the heat (boiling for about 5-7 minutes).
Put the jam into a large glass container (I use old peanut butter jars) and close tightly!
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
Jul/090
Galletto Bar and Grill, Westlake Village
This is one of our go-to restaurants, because it’s consistently good and we really crave their food. They know how to do chicken right, so if you love chicken, please go here and try the brazilian chicken. Yes, a little Brazilian-Italian restaurant right here in our neck of the woods, with lots of authentic South American dishes and a long list of pastas.
I always wonder how restaurants with huge menus are able to make each item delicious. Not all of them can pull it off (sorry, Jerry’s). Galletto’s does pull it off, though, with a ginormous menu and fantastic food! I have to admit, I get the same thing there every time (the brazilian chicken with rice, beans and plantains), but it’s why I go there! Fellow Galletto fans have ordered a variety of dishes from the menu, though, including our cousin (a very picky vegetarian) and she loved their pasta.
And they start you off right - toasty bread with a salty olive tapenade. And it’s one of those places where you just want a glass of wine - maybe it’s the ambiance or the lighting, maybe it’s the salty tapenade :).
I recommend Galletto’s to anyone, although I have a few suggestions. Be prepared on Friday and Saturday nights for live music. It’s a small and tight dining room, so you may be seated VERY near the speakers, and it’s loud. They do have outdoor seating, but it always seems to be full. And it’s kind of scene there on the weekend - which is great if you’re in the mood for people watching.
Galletto Bar and Grill
982 Westlake Boulevard
Westlake Village 91361
(805) 449-4300
Hours:
Monday - Thursday
11:30am - Midnight
Friday and Saturday
11:30am - 12:30am
Sunday
4:00pm - 10:30pm
Jul/090
Gourmet Grilled Cheese Pairing at Malibu Wines
Join us at the Malibu Wines tasting room Thursday, July 30th from 6-8pm for their famous Thirsty Thursday events!
They will be pairing a selection of delicious grilled cheese (by Good Gracious Catering!) perfectly paired with their Semler and Saddlerock Wine.
Advance Tickets Required
$36.00 per person for wine club members
$40.00 per person for non-members
Malibu Wines Tasting Room
31800 Mulholland Highway
Malibu, CA 90265
For tickets or for more information, please call 818-889-0120 or e-mail customercare@malibufamilywines.com