It's one thing to attend a wine dinner and walk away thinking only about how enjoyable the pairing was, and it's another thing to walk away much more educated about the wines had and their history. We experienced the latter of the two scenarios one night at Pinot Provence during one of their "Sommelier's Fireside Dinner" events, this one called "Great Wines of France." They have been having one a month so far and plan to continue the series through 2014 based on its welcome reception. In fact, plenty of their guests were repeats because each dinner is uniquely themed and full of such useful information. It just so happened that the dinner we attended was atypical of their events as it was held in the main dining room rather than their usual private banquet room (a double booking error); however, that did not prevent Certified Sommelier Jörn Kleinhans from delighting us in the history of the wines chosen for the evening. He was accompanied by Adam Edmonsond, both of whom are from Wine Elite, a group that provides sommelier-guided wine tasting experiences


As we were educated on the various regions in France where our wines and grapes used came from (replete with visuals such as a large map of France), the genteel staff poured each delicate wine in our glasses and laid beautifully-arranged plates in front of us. Chef Alfonso Ramirez held nothing back that night with the dishes prepared, and everyone, including the sommeliers, were eager to see how each wine would pair. After all, it was part of the fun each guest and the sommeliers at these programs has been experiencing - talking about the food and wine together without foreknowledge of each. Our first course was a crudo of hamachi, avocado, uni, and pistachio in a coriander vinaigrette paired with a white wine that many might consider German based on the name but is actually from France in a German-centric region - the Domaine Zind-Humbecht Gewurztraminer, Wintzenheim 2003. All French wines, as I've learned from Duc and was emphasized here, are made to be had with food, and this one was no different. Its initial bitter, nearly kerosene-like nose and taste would make it less palatable to those who veer towards sitting on a back patio sipping on glasses of California whites. I found that it paired well with certain elements of the dish but not necessarily as a whole. The coriander seeds made perfect sense as they cracked between my teeth and were washed down with the dry wine but the avocado seemed too buttery. I scrunched my nose at the way the vinaigrette mismatched but found the pistachio a good touch. It nearly felt this way for the rest of the night as I took a journey between complex flavor profiles per dish and varying wines paired with cuisines outside of the native region.

The second course was an enviable plate of Loup de mere atop gnocchi and accompanied by a truffle puree and saffron emulsion, a description that screamed out to me "rich and heavy flavors" upon reading. I wondered how one could pair rose and white wines to this dish considering the decadence of such ingredients but I suppose the key is to cut through it and balanced the palate. You don't want to feel burdened by such ingredient royalty upon your tongue so you opt for a pleasant cleanse of sorts. With two wines, everyone seemed fascinated about talking to their neighbors about which paired better. After all, wine is completely a subjective experience as is food. The two exquisite glasses were of the Chateau de St. Martin Rosé, Cotes de Provence 2011 and Domaine Fevre, Chablis 2006 (a Chardonnay). Duc completely enjoyed the chablis all on its own and I the rosé whose nose made me think of lilacs and flowers, making for a welcome standalone glass. However, their true power only came out once paired with the food. As a whole, the dish seemed best paired with the chablis but separated into its different components of which there were many, I found that a bite with the saffron emulsion lent itself better with one wine while the mix of fish and truffle puree paired better with the other. I suppose it is the nature of there being many elements in a dish to speak to one's palate in numerous ways.


Once we had opened up our appetites with the lighter courses, we were submitted to two dishes of dark savory meats that piqued the interests of our base instincts. The first presented was a Pork belly with chestnuts and brussel sprouts in a maple gastrique and mustard seed, which was paired with the gems of Reserve de Vignerons Cabernet France, Saumur 2009 and a very special Domaine Brana, Irouleguy 1998. We felt like we were being spoiled...because of the wine. To be honest, the pork belly was an absolute miss for me because why, why, why would you add a maple gastrique to everything else? The overbearing sweetness was quite distracting but at least there was amazing wine to take my mind off of the foul play.

The second of the red meat plates was the lovely Lamb loin with roasted porcini, porcini puree, and fennel salad with fennel pollen vinaigrette paired with both the Chateau Gloria, St. Julien 2006 and Perrin & Fils, Chateauneuf du Pape 2009 ("Les Sinards"). Yet again, another divided dish between the wines but I'd have to say that it was the best composed of them all. Overall it worked well enough with both of the wines though of course, there were elements more befitting of one or the other. The lightly crusted loin that was oh so tender had remnants of the fennel pollen, producing an anise/licorice taste that worked out beautifully with the St. Julien while the Chateauneuf du Pape was a fit for just about every part of it. I loved the roasted porcini and porcini puree but I do have quite the liking for mushrooms of any type.


Now though we as guests felt like the evening was progressing along just fine save for the difficulty at some moments in hearing (based on how we were seated in the main dining room), they claimed the service was a tad off. Looking back, I can see what they were referring to though because we were often interrupted from our attention to the wine history lessons by the mid-speech arrival of the staff. As an apology, the Pinot Provence staff took it upon themselves to offer a very special twenty-year-aged wine along with our dessert of Chocolate fondant with mango sherbet and pannacotta - the sweet but clean Royal Tokaji Wine Company Royal Tokaji, Hungary 1995 ("Aszu Essencia"). The original pairing was also poured as well which was the Chapoutier Banyuls, and both were delectable. To think that we were granted the privilege of partaking in a bottle of the Tokaji was enough to make the night. The smallest drop went a long way in coating our throats with the sweet nectar of its specialty. Forget the dessert plate - I was fine finishing off the evening with this!


Overall, it was most enjoyable dining experience I have had recently, and I emphasize experience because though there were a few momentary misses with the pairings, the food was generally fantastic and the wines alone were stellar. We also were well-educated in the history and legacy of each wine and the regions of France along with interaction from the guests present. I do believe that it would be best to see how these events run in more closed quarters though, and you still have a chance this fall as their November event is coming up on the 20th - "Cabernet Sauvignon Around the World." Also make sure to catch Wine Elite to see what other events they have going on around southern California! Our thanks go out to everyone for having us and we look forward to letting more and more people know about this fantastic evening that they can have as well!

Photography by Duc Duong. More photos available on Facebook here.

When I posted the picture of a package of pre-made polenta from Fresh & Easy for last week's Test Kitchen ingredient, I didn't expect that there would be so much activity on Facebook about it! It was a mixture of suggestions for recipes and pleas for me to make my own instead of using store-bought. But alas, I am curious and had to try it both ways. I did make polenta from scratch with some yummy shrimp (recipe here) but also gave this a go and boy can we taste the difference! My suggestion is to go fresh from now so this recipe for a breakfast dish below can use either but the pictures show me using the store-bought.

Step 1: Ingredients (yields 2-3 servings)

• 1 lb polenta
• 1 tbsp garlic salt, divided
• olive oil
• 1 lb fresh hot Italian sausage
• 6 oz tomato sauce
• 4 eggs
• black pepper, to taste

Step 2: Prepping the polenta
The duration of time for this step will really vary based on if you are using pre-made polenta or making your own. Your end goal is to have 12-15 slices of polenta though so if you make your own, refrigerate it until firm enough to slice; if you have pre-made polenta, slice about 3/4" thick. Heat a large skillet with enough olive oil to thinly coat the surface. Sprinkle on half the garlic salt. Fry one side of the polenta slices and sprinkle other half of garlic salt on top. Flip. You'll want this golden and crisp.


Step 3: Cooking the toppings
One pound of hot Italian sausages equated to three hefty links for me. I fried these on the same skillet as the polenta had been on. Only after they were cooked did I slice them to allow for juices to stay as intact as possible. Then I heated up tomato sauce in the sausage skillet (use your favorite!). In a separate skillet, I fried eggs.


Step 4: Finishing
The steps sound so rudimentary but the dish itself kind of is. It's a full breakfast made from ingredients you can throw together! I layered polenta on the bottom, topped with sliced sausage, drizzled with tomato sauce, and finished with a runny egg. Then I cracked some black pepper on top and enjoyed as should you!


This week's Test Kitchen ingredient: papalo
After eating some papalo in a dish at Taco Maria, I was curious about the herb. Then we spotted a sproutling at a Hispanic supermarket near us and needed to see if Duc could grow it. Looks like his green thumb is working because we managed to get to harvestable amounts. What should I do with it? Comment when the picture goes up on Facebook! It's also known as Bolivian Coriander and can be described as in taste as between arugula and cilantro.


Photography by Minerva Thai & Duc Duong.

Sometimes it's a tad difficult to get my fingers moving across the keyboard to generate content that people will hopefully find useful and interesting enough to share. Then I think about all who have already put Much Ado About Fooding on their list of websites good enough to follow, even if part-time. We recently passed our 1,000 fan mark on Facebook and were ecstatic. It may not seem like too large a number compared to all the other food blogs out there but it certainly was a special moment because for the most part, our fans are people who read the posts every once in a while. They'll mention to us in passing about the site so we know that they have engaged in one way or another - it's not just numbers. As a thank-you, we teamed up with Little Italy West to bring together a very special and delicious dinner for those who wished to join us. I'd have to say that the night went very well, and we hope you enjoy seeing the pictures in this post! We're definitely looking to do more and more events as we continue to grow.


The intimate 20 person dinner was graciously hosted at the home of Dr. Dave Patel who was kind enough to let us not only use his home but also donated to the set-up of the evening. Chef Donna Cali of Little Italy West donated her time and the time of those who came by to help (Amy, Annie, Andy, and Kaylee) - wow! We were so grateful for all of their hard work before and during the event. I went through Chef Donna's specialties and put together a menu of items I felt others had to have, and Duc had an absolute blast pairing wines with the dishes. It was most certainly a team effort, and we were glad to be on it. We had first met Chef Donna at The Hood Kitchen's vendor tasting event a few months back, tasted her food again at their own private tasting, and knew we had to utilize her skills. She is working on opening her restaurant in Orange County at the start of 2014 so be on the look out!


If there's one thing you can say about Donna, it's that she is passionate. The whole time we watched her work while prepping the dishes before guests arrived, it seemed like she was always smiling. The culinary workplace is her haven it seems, and she has the skills to pay the rent! As you can probably tell from the name of her and her husband's restaurant (they have Little Italy in Florida where Chef Alfredo currently is), they focus on authentic Italian food, and no, I do not mean that Italian-American carbo-load. I mean fresh ingredients and fresh talent coupled with innovation and love. Our first dish of the night was inspired by Hawaiian poke but still maintained a Sicilian flair - Insalata di tonno con anguria, pomodoro ed’erbe fresce (tuna with watermelon, tomato & fresh herbs). It was paired by Duc with glasses of Armani Pinot Grigio Valdadige 2013 which everyone seemed to enjoy together as an evening palate cleanser.


The wine carried over to the next dish which was one that really caught my attention the first time we tried Little Italy West's food - Gnocchi freschi di ricotta al burro e salvia (fresh made ricotta gnocchi with butter & sage). Why did it stay on my mind? Well most people think of gnocchi has being a dense, rich potato pasta but since Chef Donna cleverly makes hers with ricotta, it stays very pillowy and light but with enough savory weight to hold its own. Bathe that in a sage butter sauce and top with sprinklings of freshly-grated nutmeg and shreds of Parmesan and you most definitely have yourself a winner. I'm pretty sure I saw eyes roll back on this one.


Some people aren't too keen on lamb but Chef Donna has a good hold on how to present a nice rack (har har). Guests that night got a taste of her Costoletta d`agnello con frutti di bosco in aceto balsamico ridotto (lamb chop with fresh berries in balsamic reduction) which looked beautiful but also tasted amazing with the green sauce on top. The pairing for this dish and the following was the Casalino Chianti Classico Riserva 2008, a lighter-bodied red wine that every range of wine lover could manage but with enough complexity for the wine lovers to really enjoy. I believe this was the one that prompted many to want the wine list.


One of my absolute favorite dishes of Chef Donna's is the Fettuccine fresche ai funghi porcini (fresh made fettucine with a porcini sauce), and the general consensus once the night was over was that this was their favorite as well. Her specialty among the many, many culinary talents she has is infusing pasta - this was no different. A thick noodle infused with porcini and lounging in a porcini and black truffle sauce, the fettuccine was highlighted by freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt crystals.


You'd think that when someone has an amazing handle on entrees and savory foods, they might be lacking in the baking or sweets department. Wrong! Chef Donna continued to amaze everyone that evening when she brought out Cornetti di pasta sfoglia alla crema (puff pastry horns filled with Italian vanilla cream), dainty little horn-shaped pastries filled with an out-of-this-world cream that had been flecked with lemon zest. The espresso bean garnishes were just the perfect touch. The other end to the night came in the form of bonbons from our favorite chocolatier, Amy Jo of Valenza Chocolatier. It only made sense to have Italian chocolates with Italian food, and she absolutely delivered. Spumoni, limoncello, and espresso bonbon jewels lined plates that had people gaping as they were brought out. I had barely come back out after the dessert had been presented when I realized all the chocolates were gone. What a compliment! The wine for this last course of the evening was Sant Orsola Moscato d'Asti 2013, a true Italian Moscato that showed how complex the wine could be and how some American versions don't do it justice because of artificial sugar additions.


There just feels like there is so much more to write about the night but then this would become a lengthy post. It was just too perfect with everyone's work put together into one amazing evening with great people, food, and fun. Donna was such a joyful whirlwind in the kitchen, and Duc loved being able to educate about the wine (and a lot of times, wine was also in the kitchen as you could see from the pictures...haha). The talent that night through the food, service, and chocolate(!) made us so very grateful to be in the company of such masters, and we hope to have more of these events! It was a ticketed event this time with limited seating but who knows? If you continue to help us grow, maybe the next time we can have a huge (free) shebang. Thank you everyone for making everything possible!

Photography by Duc Duong. More photographs available on Facebook here.

I went a little out of order this time around. Our Test Kitchen ingredient this week is polenta that we had bought out of curiosity but with so many talking about how I should make it fresh instead, I knew I had to try that day. Therefore, this recipe will contain polenta before my Test Kitchen post goes out about polenta but it was so darn good, I could not hold myself back. Polenta itself when simply explained is just a porridge made from cornmeal so that's what we did. To recall some semblance of one of my favorite Southern dishes (shrimp and grits), I decided to add some pan-fried shrimp to the dish. Take a stab at this simple recipe yourself and let me know what you think.

Step 1: Ingredients (yields 2-3 servings)

• olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup cornmeal, coarse grind
• 2 tbsps Parmesan, grated
• 3 tbsps butter, unsalted
• 12-16 large shrimp, size about 21-25
• 2 tbsps smoked olive oil (or regular)
• 1 tbsp ghost chili salt (alternatively red chili flakes + sea salt combined)
• ground black pepper

Step 2: Making the polenta
Mince garlic cloves and add to a hot saucepan with olive oil on medium heat. Before the pieces burn, add in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Then add in cornmeal and Parmesan, stirring frequently to prevent from burning. Lower heat to low and continue stirring until the whole mix has thickened. When at the consistency you like it, turn off heat and add in butter, stirring until fully incorporated.


Step 3: Cooking the shrimp
Remove the shells from your shrimp except for the last bit of tail for a "handle" of sorts. Devein. Brush each with the smoked olive oil. I used smoked olive oil because it really accentuates the ghost chili pepper used later but if you don't have either, feel free to just use olive oil and other chili peppers. Then rub the salt all over the shrimp. Heat a medium skillet and using the tail handle to lay down the shrimp, place them down next to each other, cooking about 1 minute per side. Shrimp gets too tough if you overcook it, and it overcooks easily!


Step 4: Finishing
Spoon polenta onto a plate. Crack fresh black pepper over polenta as desired and topped with shrimp. We added some fresh sprigs of thyme on it too but it's not necessary. There you go - simple but delicious dinner!


Photography by Minerva Thai.

Planet Dailies LA recently launched a new dessert menu and new cocktails over at their Mixology lounge, and unfortunately, we couldn't make it during a preview night! However, we were able to drop by another day to take a look at what's in store for this restaurant who will soon be changing over their menu. We ended up opting for menu items that were going to make the cut for the next go-around and got some time to speak briefly to Chef Joshua Wilson about the direction he is trying to take the restaurant.


Located in Los Angeles at the Original Farmers Market, which we noticed was absolutely booming with people and places to eat, Planet Dailies LA is from the same people that bring you Planet Hollywood but with a different vibe. It was very Californian in design and cuisine if you can picture that (if not, there are pictures to look at!). The seating was deceptively large as there was patio and indoor seating sprawling all across the top floor of the building. We even spotted a studio space for Mario Lopez (and a menu list of his top picks...?) inside. It seems like the place to go to if you want to check out what Hollywood is eating. The restaurant prides itself in sourching from as many local places as possible, going as far as to include a long list of potential sources on the back of each menu. We counted nearly 40 farms! As for the menu itself, the options seemed limitless - sections designated were appetizers, entrees, salads, pizza, pasta, Chinese, sides, burgers, deli, shakes, Mario Lopez' picks,and desserts. It was quite difficult to make a choice with so many dishes and descriptions glaring us in the face but as aforementioned, the menu will get an adjustment soon enough with, as Chef Wilson noted, as much as a 50% cut.



Of course we had to start with our drinks for the sunny weekend day. We were alerted that these were not the same drinks as have been recently compiled for the Mixology lounge (the ones we had missed out on) but we were certainly not expecting the kinds of drinks that we received. It was a bit of a surprise that their regular menu staples were off-balance and unfinishable. We totaled with three drinks to give their popular ones and ones of our choice a try but alas, the pizzazz was lacking. We were forewarned that their Moscow Mule ($9 - vodka, fresh squeezed lime juice, ginger beer) was not going to come in the iconic cup but we weren't warned that there was just too much lime in it. The Gold Rush ($10 - Bourbon, fresh squeezed lemon juice, honey syrup) had much too much bourbon as to make it unenjoyable and our anticipated elegant Brass Flower ($9 - gin, elderflower cordial, grapefruit juice, Prosecco)
too bitter from too much grapefruit juice. All in all, I'd warn against coming to Planet Dailies for the cocktails though they do have several craft beers on tap.

Our appetizers were much better received however as we opted for their Fire-Roasted Artichokes (black peppercorn, chili, lemon aioli and tomato balsamic vinaigrette), a soon-to-be regular menu item. These were large, bountiful halves of flavorful artichoke with tasteful side sauces that you didn't really need due to its own seasoning (though they were there if desired). I enjoyed the snap of chili specks as we ate these. Then we had one of their most popular appetizers, their Caprese Sliders ($15.99 - Kobe beef burgers, fresh Mozzarella, Roma tomatoes, fresh basil and balsamic glaze on sweet buns), which ended up being just about my favorite of the plates. I'll have credit that to freshness of the produce and the way sweet buns (think Hawaiian sweet bread) accentuated the balsamic glaze. I'd opt for these if you're ever here and willing to splurge a little. After all, with just three on a plate, these came out to be over $5 a pop!


The entrees were also a practice in popular and new. The "popular" choice was something from their existing menu - their Spinach & Peaches Salad ($15.99 - grilled chicken breast, baby spinach, fresh peaches, strawberries, candied walnuts, and Feta served with tomato balsamic vinaigrette) and their "new" choice to appear on the newer menu was their Grilled Jamaican Jerk Chicken (served with plantains, mango salsa, rice). The salad came artfully in a slanted bowl as many salads have now been presented, and the ingredients were incredibly fresh. I could see why the manager there at the time claimed it was just about her favorite salad. The baby spinach was abundant with plenty of chicken pieces to give a filling feel. Our plate of the jerk chicken revealed that the Jamaican jerk was only referring to the seasoning. Darn. I had been hoping to see it jerk style but alas, only the seasoning was utilized which made the meat taste more like a regularly grilled chicken breast that had been brushed with the seasoning. We found the rice to be too dry and the plantains unexciting. It's definitely a work in progress, as they confessed as well.


We were feeling near our limit by this point but definitely had to have their desserts seeing as it was one of the first menu areas to have changed. The much-raved-about Crispy Fried Ice Cream ($6.99 - deep-fried vanilla ice cream topped with caramel sauce and served with homemade whipped cream) came out first, and it became pretty obvious why it was loved. The crust was actually made of crushed Capt'n Crunch cereal which gave the dessert a sweeter shell and an appropriate crunch. It was definitely a dish to be shared but even we were defeated. This was the more preferred of the two we went for as their Very Berry Cobbler ($7.99 - fresh seasonal berries garnished with a rich walnut crumble topping and served a la mode) barely had crumble so it failed to resemble a cobbler but looked more like baked berries with sprinklings on top. Somehow none of it jived with either of us so we went back to the fried ice cream. All in all, the space was nice and the attention to local and fresh great. However, there needs to be some reworking of the standard cocktail menu, we believe, and some of the menu items as well. Maybe cutting down the options in the near future as planned will allow the chef and staff to hone in on making the fewer items better.

Photography by Duc Duong. More photos available on Facebook here.