Pasadena personal chef service, Om Chef posts food news, research, recipes, resources and experts on how, why and what to eat for ultimate taste, optimum health and environmental sustainability
Blue Foot, Black Trumpet,Shiitake, St.George, or Butter Bolete...............L.A. Funghi's got them!
Chef Dirk Hermann developed his passion for food and madness for mushrooms as a young boy growing up in the Bavarian Alps. Dirk's parents where restauranters who frequently traded with wild mushroom hunters for meals,andthe light to dark, sweet to bitter, famous Bavarian beers. Dirk continued this tradition as a chef and restaurant owner in his homeland as well as the US.
Dirk is known as the 'L.A. Funghi', and his remarkable assortment of mushrooms can be found at the Sunday Hollywood Farmers Market, and other local farmers markets..... For LA Funghi locations, recipes and the medicinal qualities of mushrooms go to Dirk's site L.A. Funghi.com
One of the simplest mushroom techniques of all, stuffed...
..and they can be stuffed with most anything.
Above is a simple mix of walnuts, spinach, basil, mushroom stems, and feta cheese,
and quickly broiled for 10-15 minutes.
'Kinda Like a Chef' blog has an ultra simple recipe for olive oil fried mushrooms using L.A. Funghi's mixed mushroom basket here
Love mushrooms? Love beer? Check out wild mushroom hunter and home brewer, Damon's 'Life with Beer' blog, for Chanterelle Belgium Ale
serve with brown rice. shown: curry roasted cauliflower and ginger carrots
And the perfect use of all those yummy farmers market veggies broiled and roasted a few days ago..brushed with a little Balsamic vinegar and olive oil, placed under the broiler with a slice of provolone and served on a grilled La Boulangerie baguette
La Boulangerie's excellent breads are available at the Friday farmers market at the Bank of America Plaza in downtown Los Angeles
Cauliflower coated with curry and a splash of olive oil before roasting
The only thing better than this is the leftovers! Delicious salads and sandwiches are a promise when last nights roasted veggies are added to farmers market fresh mixed greens, or snuggled between slices of your favorite artisanal bread, such as or La Brea . Roasted veggies are one of those dishes that is even better the next day! Boulangerie
A well made salad does not need the bottled, high in fat, calories, sodium, high fructose corn syrup, and preservative loaded dressings from Kraft...this is a sample of ingredients for a fab salad, the only limit is your imagination. A thoughtful blend of crisp and soft, crunchy and creamy, dry and juicy, sweet and savory, bitter and sour, and gently held together with a splash of olive oil and a double splash of complimentary vinegar, makes store bought salad dressings completely unnecessary.
Using a colorful mix of raw, cooked, semi-cooked, and pickled veggies, fruits, cooked and/or sprouted grains, beans and/or peas, nuts, and cheese provides a an exciting, never boring way to eat fresh and healthy.
All of the above mentioned ingredients can be cleaned, chopped, sprouted, pickled and/or cooked two or three days ahead and stored separately in the refrigerator. Ingredients may be used for a quick salad, heated and served with cooked whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, wheat berry, or barley, or add some of these fab, and prepared ahead ingredients to a simmering broth for an instant and delectable soup.
Composing a beautiful meal of the tastes your body is craving is ultra easy and delicious with a little advance preparation. This is one of the secrets of optimum health, having delicious and good for you options ready to go when hunger strikes.
Veggies from downtown Los Angeles 7th and Figueroa Farmers Market, every Thursday from 10-3
Roast Beast is simple, easy and absolutely delicious to any carnivore with these simple steps.
The most important step with any recipe or cooking instructions (or any instructions for that matter), is to read through them two or three times
Purchase USDA Prime if possible, found at your better meat markets such asHuntington Meat Market *(323- 938-5383), and if you have no other choice- Costco.
Much of the beef available at Huntington Meats is from Harris Ranch,
Buying from Dan and Jim at Huntington Meats gives you an excellent excuse to go to the Farmers Market
an authentic L.A. experience, this is the original farmers market started during the depression by two young, savvy guys trying to make a difference....and they did! Farmers markets can be found all over the U.S thanks to Roger Dahlhjelm and Fred Beck.
Purchase USDA Choice if necessary, available at Ralph's or any good supermarket. Downtown Los Angeles Ralph's at 645 West 9th St, has an excellent meat department, and this location also carries USDA Prime Beef.
A full prime rib roast consists of 7 ribs, and will weigh an easy 15 pounds.
We are using a two rib roast here weighing just over 4 pounds it will need a little less than one hour in the oven.
Remove roast from refrigeration allow to come to room temperature, one hour per pound is about right.
pat dry with paper towels.
Preheat oven 450
....if you do not have an oven thermometer go get one now, available at any decent grocery store....
skip the convection oven, an old school oven is best and reduces the risk of drying out the roast.
Apply 2 TB of butter to cut ends of roast, and a dry rub of fresh thyme, rosemary, fresh cracked pepper, and possibly a few whole garlic cloves for the pan.
What about the salt? No salt, none, skip the salt for a truly juicy roast.
Place roast in a heavy roasting pan fat side up, ribs down, the ribs will act as a natural rack.
Insert meat thermometer in thickest part of roast not touching bone.
Place roast in 450 preheated oven
don't open the oven door or feel the need to mess with the roast, trust your (excellent, high quality) meat thermometer to let you know when it's done. Do Not rely on the timer, trust your thermometer, and only the thermometer.
Roast at 450 for 15 minutes, reduce to 350 for remaining roasting time.
1/2 to 3/4 of the way through the estimated cooking time begin checking the meat thermometer, quickly baste the roast with the pan drippings while you are in there.....
Cooking time: Allow 12 minutes per pound for rare, 15 minutes for medium,
and well done roast beef should simply not be done.
Prime meats cook slightly faster than choice
When thermometer reaches 120 it's done, remove roast from oven,
yes, I said remove from oven...take it out! I promise you the roast will continue to cook while out of the oven, ultimately reaching a temp of about 130 resulting in a perfect rare to medium rare roast beast.
Carefully remove roast from roasting pan to a serving dish, cover loosely with tin foil and allow to rest for 20 minutes or even an hour. Allowing meat to rest after cooking is critical, this step allows the meat to finish cooking and guarantees juicer meats as well as a insuring rested and relaxed chef..
*Dan Vance's Huntington Meats (butcher shop) on 3rd in Los Angeles is not to be confused with the Huntington Meats ( meat packers, processors) of Montebelo.
Huntington Meat Packers of Montebello experienced a massive beef recall for E. coli at the beginning of the year. Contamination and the necessary recalls are becoming more, and more common with the massive, commercialized meat packing plants...
** all Natural:
Humanely Raised on Sustainable U.S. Farms and Ranches
All that fabulously fresh farmers market produce can be simply dressed in olive oil, whole garlic cloves, plenty of fresh herbs and roasted in a hot oven (450) for an awesome dinner tonight, and two or three more meals over the next several days.
After roasting, cool and refrigerate in sealed containers, ideally glass.
Roasted veggies turn simple mixed leaf lettuce in to a gourmet salad, sandwiched between artisan slices of bread with a few slices of chesses and grilled creates a superior hot sandwich, or gently rewarm the veggies and serve with a cooked whole grain such as kasha (buckwheat), brown rice or quinoa
Veggies shown here are from the 7th and Fig Farmers Market in downtown Los Angeles. Thursdays from 10-3
Mighty Micro Greens are a fab addition to salads, and are a beautiful and nutrient dense garnish. Clip and grow allows you to harvest only what you need for the ultimate in 'Live' food.
Jan Ziegler, the grower behind Mighty Microgreens, can be reached at:
Ph. 805-687-1011 jan@janziegler.com
Pics are from a recent holiday in Santa Barbara.
Two days of sea air, scenic beauty, great conversation, and fabulous food...it doesn't get much better. And thinking I should move back....
Fairview Gardens, Founded in 1895, Fairview Gardens is considered by some to be the oldest organic farms in southern California,
Fusano Olives
Santa Barbara's farmers have two markets each week, Tuesdays on Old Town State Street, Saturdays at Cota and Santa Barbara, and one in Montecito on Friday on Coast Village Road
Luc, a charming, Miniature Schnauzer, came with the the guest room...
please note the spectacular view of the channel Islands
assorted raspberry-miso grilled veggies on a heavenly bed of brown Basmati rice with nuts, herbs and garbanzo beans Vegetables shown are from the Hollywood Farmers Market
Porcini, Chanterelle, 
Morels, Wood Ear, 
Chef Dirk Hermann developed his passion for food and madness for mushrooms as a young boy growing up in the Bavarian Alps. Dirk's parents where restauranters who frequently traded with wild mushroom hunters for meals, and the light to dark, sweet to bitter, famous Bavarian beers. Dirk continued this tradition as a chef and restaurant owner in his homeland as well as the US. 
One of the simplest mushroom techniques of all, stuffed...
