May 2014

St. John’s Rhubarb Crumble Cake

Fergus Henderson's Rhubarb Crumble Cake

The Astronomer and I celebrated another year of marriage this past April, and I’ve been meaning to crank out this post since then. Life can feel hectic these days both on the personal and professional fronts, but there’s always time for cakes and milestones—Always!

Since it’s tradition to bestow fruit upon one’s beloved in honor of the fourth wedding anniversary, I baked my guy a Rhubarb Crumble Cake. He can’t resist tart rhubarb paired with a good streusel topping, and I’m always up for a culinary challenge.

This cake, which is seasonally served at Chef Fergus Henderson’s super-fabulous St. John Restaurant in London, is a triple threat. The bottom-most layer, moist and buttery cake, gives way to a generous layer of tangy fruit kissed with orange zest. Finally, a nutty topping that’s crunchy and wholly complementary ties all the layers together. This is certainly “a kind of British cooking” that I can get behind.

For fruit mixture

  • 3 large stalks of rhubarb
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup Turbinado sugar
  • Grated zest of 1 orange
    NOTE: You could also use apples, apricots, cooked quinces, nectarines, gooseberries, pears and ginger, or plums

For cake mix

  • 1/2 cup soft unsalted butter
  • Scant 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/3 cups self-rising flour, sifted
  • Scant 1/4 cup full-fat milk

For crumble mix

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 3 ouces unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
  • 1/2 Turbinado sugar
  • 1/4 cup ground almonds
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • A pinch of salt

Fergus Henderson's Rhubarb Crumble Cake

First top and tail the rhubarb, give it a good wash and cut it into slices about 3/4 inch thick. Mix it with the sugars and the orange zest and set aside for 30 minutes.

Fergus Henderson's Rhubarb Crumble Cake

For the cake mix, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs, bit by bit to prevent curdling. Then fold in the sifted flour, and last of all mix in the milk. Put to one side.

For the crumble mix, sift the flour into a bowl, add the butter and rub them together with your fingertips until they look like large breadcrumbs. Stir in the Turbinado sugar, ground almonds, sliced almonds and salt.  (more…)

May 2014

Let’s Talk Shop: #KitchenParty’s “Blog to Book” & Chinese American Museum’s “Let’s Dish It Out”

#KitchenParty

#KitchenParty
May 8, 2014 from 5 to 6 PM PST
UPDATE: In case you missed it, the Hangout is live for viewing here.

Chatting with author Cathy Chaplin (+Gastronomy Blog) about how she turned her blog into a book.  If you’ve ever wanted to write a book, come check out the show. We’ll also be chatting about where to eat in LA! How you can participate:

  • Leave a comment/ask a question on our event page
  • Upload a photo of your favorite LA eatery
  • Tweet us out at #kitchenparty

KitchenParty is a weekly interactive and live-streaming web series on Google+. The show is produced by BakeSpace.com. Each week the live web series brings you the culinary world’s most innovative movers and shakers live and in person so you can chat with them. The format of our show allows you to ask questions, share recipes, upload photos of your culinary creations or simply sit back and enjoy the show!

Chinese American Museum

Let’s Dish it Out! A Discussion on Asian American Foodies
May 13, 2014 at 7 PM
Los Angeles’ Chinese American Museum
Reserve your seat: rsvp@camla.org

Asian Americans utilize social media more than any other ethnic group in the United States. This may explain why there appears to be a disproportionate number of Asian American food bloggers and “Yelpers” in Los Angeles. This panel explores the growing influence and role of Asian Americans in contemporary Los Angeles food trends. Are Asians Americans truly the new “taste-makers” in Los Angeles, or even nationally?

Moderated by Nguyen Tran of Starry Kitchen, a formerly underground kitchen gone legal, the panel will include:

  • Cathy Chaplin, writer of ” The Food Lover’s Guide to Los Angeles” and creator of gastronomyblog.com.
  • Robert Ji-Song Ku, author of Dubious Gastronomy: The Cultural Politics of Eating Asian in the USA, co-editor of Eating Asian America: A Food Studies Reader, and Associate Professor of Asian American Studies at Binghamton University.
  • Eddie Lin, author of Deep End Dining and Los Angeles Magazine’s Digest blog.
May 2014

Longman & Eagle – Chicago

Longman & Eagle - Chicago

If I had to pick a favorite meal from this trip to Chicago, top honors would go to Chef Jared Wentworth’s Longman & Eagle. It’s a whiskey bar that happens to have really good fucking food. What more could I ask for?

Longman & Eagle - Chicago

Recipient of a Michelin star for four straight years and counting (2011 to 2014), Longman & Eagle is my kind of place.

The food is creative and delightful, while the mood is perfectly chill. Best of all, the fare is more than fairly priced. It’s impossible not to fall hard for L&E’s charms, especially with a few $3 whiskies working their way through one’s system.

Longman & Eagle - Chicago

Behind the stoves are Executive Chef and Partner Jared Wentworth and Chef de Cuisine Matthew Kerney. The forward food is sometimes dreamed up while under the influence:

I think smoking a little weed makes the creative process better, especially for food. But it’s all based in classical French techniques, and then I start putting twists on things from there. – Jared Wentworth

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