Show 499, November 12, 2022: Lauren Thomas, The Modern Hippie Table cookbook and blog – The Modern Hippie Way Part One

Modern Hippie Lauren Thomas

Modern Hippie” celebrates a way of living and entertaining that creates an intentional series of moments at home, where good food, conversation, and design come together to create and establish lasting and inspired memories. Lauren Thomas’s The Modern Hippie Table: Recipes and Menus for Eating Simply and Living Beautifully combines more than 70 curated recipes and assorted themed menus with beautiful and doable tabletop ideas, creating a vibe of laid-back elegance that complements whatever is on the menu, from an intimate dinner for two to a large celebration.” 

“In this debut collection, Lauren shares favorite dishes that can be easily prepared for entertaining, which allows you to spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your guests and family. Some of the recipes are made from scratch, while others make creative use of store-bought convenience foods and pre-made products that help save time.”

“Lauren is also passionate about making sure the surroundings of the occasion are as beautiful as the meal is delicious. She provides suggestions for flowers, linens, and surfaces that won’t add stress or break the bank. And to complete your planning, suggested menus for occasions such as an intimate date night or a meet the neighbors gathering are sprinkled throughout the book to help plan out themed meals, along with tips on how to set the scene for the occasion.”

Lauren takes a break from preparing her Pear, Pomegranate, Turkey and Gorgonzola Board to join us.

For Lauren’s virtual presentation for the Melissa’s food media group she prepared a Pear, Pomegranate, Turkey and Gorgonzola Salad Board inspired by her recipe for Pear Gorgonzola Salad in The Modern Hippie Table. Lauren graciously shares that recipe with us. Perfect use for that leftover Thanksgiving turkey.

Show 499, November 12, 2022: Lauren Thomas, The Modern Hippie Table cookbook and blog – The Modern Hippie Way Part Two

Modern Hippie Lauren Thomas

Modern Hippie” celebrates a way of living and entertaining that creates an intentional series of moments at home, where good food, conversation, and design come together to create and establish lasting and inspired memories. Lauren Thomas’s The Modern Hippie Table: Recipes and Menus for Eating Simply and Living Beautifully combines more than 70 curated recipes and assorted themed menus with beautiful and doable tabletop ideas, creating a vibe of laid-back elegance that complements whatever is on the menu, from an intimate dinner for two to a large celebration.” 

“In this debut collection, Lauren shares favorite dishes that can be easily prepared for entertaining, which allows you to spend less time in the kitchen and more time with your guests and family. Some of the recipes are made from scratch, while others make creative use of store-bought convenience foods and pre-made products that help save time.”

“Lauren is also passionate about making sure the surroundings of the occasion are as beautiful as the meal is delicious. She provides suggestions for flowers, linens, and surfaces that won’t add stress or break the bank. And to complete your planning, suggested menus for occasions such as an intimate date night or a meet the neighbors gathering are sprinkled throughout the book to help plan out themed meals, along with tips on how to set the scene for the occasion.”

Lauren takes a 2nd break from finishing her Pear, Pomegranate, Turkey and Gorgonzola Board (inspired by her recipe for Pear Gorgonzola Salad from The Modern Hippie Table) to continue with us.

For Lauren’s virtual presentation for the Melissa’s food media group she prepared a Pear, Pomegranate, Turkey and Gorgonzola Salad Board inspired by her recipe for Pear Gorgonzola Salad in The Modern Hippie Table. Lauren graciously shares that recipe with us. Perfect use for that leftover Thanksgiving turkey.

Pear, Pomegranate & Turkey Gorgonzola Salad Board

Pear, Pomegranate and Turkey Gorgonzola Salad Board by Lauren Thomas

Recipe excerpt from:
The Modern Hippie Table: Recipes and Menus for Eating Simply and Living Beautifully
by Lauren Thomas

If you find yourself wondering what to do with all those turkey leftovers after Thanksgiving, this delicious salad board makes a beautiful presentation to impress your family (who’s still in town) when you don’t feel like cooking. Whether you serve this salad for lunch or dinner, I can assure you that you’ll inspire a new leftovers tradition! Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoon sherry or white wine vinegar
  • 4 teaspoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 heads butter lettuce, torn into small pieces
  • 1 head Greenleaf lettuce, torn into small pieces
  • Approximately one pound of leftover white turkey meat, sliced or chopped
  • 1 small head radicchio lettuce, chopped
  • 4 ounces crumbled gorgonzola cheese
  • 2 large ripe pears, preferably Bartlett or Comice, cored and cut into ½- inch cubes
  • 1 cup pomegranate arils, or the seeds of one pomegranate
  • Black pepper
  • *Extra pears and pomegranates to help decorate your board

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, and salt. Set aside.

In a large salad bowl, combine the butter lettuce and Greenleaf lettuce and toss to combine. On a large platter or wooden board with raised edges, arrange the lettuce to cover. On top of the lettuce, start by arranging the turkey in the center, followed by the radicchio, cheese, pears, and pomegranate arils on either side of the turkey in parallel lines. Drizzle the salad dressing evenly and toss gently just before serving. Season with black pepper to taste.

Show 467, March 26, 2022: Mongibello Blood Orange Juice from Sicily

Mark Taylor of Mongibello 100 percent Blood Orange Juice

A discovery at the recent Natural Products Expo West at the Anaheim Convention Center is Mongibello 100 percent Blood Orange Juice fresh squeezed and packed in Italy. The Blood Oranges are from the Tarocco, Moro and Sanguinello varieties grown at the foot of the Mt. Etna volcano in the rich volcanic soil of Sicily.

It’s rich in antioxidants with only 80 calories per 8oz.

Mark Taylor, the US Import Agent for Mongibello, joins us with all the squeeze on Mongibello 100 percent Blood Orange Juice from Sicily.

Show 392, September 26, 2020: Produce Expert Robert Schueller of Melissa’s on Halloween Entertaining

Robert Schueller of Melissa's World Variety Produce in the AM830 KLAA StudioOur friends at Melissa’s World Variety Produce are again hauntingly clever in putting together a complete package of inspired party ideas and fun, healthy recipes to make your socially distanced Halloween celebration the ultimate ghostly gathering.

It all starts with Melissa’s exclusive selection of Freaky Fruits. These delicious items (exotic and tropical fruits) include Kiwano Melon, Dragon Fruit, Jackfruit, Blood Oranges, Passion Fruit, Strawberry Papaya, Pomegranates, Rambutans, Cherimoya, and Finger Limes.

The Melissa’s chefs have created a fiendishly clever collection of hauntingly delicious recipes for your Halloween entertaining. Don’t miss the Freaky Fruit Salad and the Dragon Egg Stew punch with cactus pears, apple cider, and rambutans.

Adults are part of the Halloween festivities, too, with the Zombie-rita. It’s a kiwano melon cocktail with tequila, Gran Marnier and a squeeze of lime.

All the easy-to-follow recipes and tips are @ melissas.com.

Our resident produce authority Robert Schueller (also known as the Prince of Produce) provides the fun & squishy facts on Freaky Fruits for inspired Halloween entertaining.

Show 50, November 30, 2013: Chef Instructor Robert Wemischner of L.A. Trade-Tech College

Robert WemischnerChef Instructor Robert Wemischner is a mainstay in the Baking Department at L.A. Trade Tech in Downtown Los Angeles. This is where you go when you really want to learn the craft and it’s bargain priced. He’s also an accomplished pastry chef and author. The Dessert Architect is his most recent title.

Chef Bob shares his holiday dessert ideas for using fresh pomegranates, persimmons, and (the underappreciated) quince. The result is an easy-to-prepare, delightful Pomegranate, Persimmon and Quince Napoleon.

November 30, Suzanne Goin, Griffin Hammond, Robert Wemischner, Pascal Olhats, Gavin Kaysen, David LeFevre

Podcasts

Segment One: Host Jet Tila and Producer Andy Harris
Segment Two: Chef & Restaurateur Suzanne Goin of Lucques, A.O.C. and Tavern Part One
Segment Three: Chef & Restaurateur Suzanne Goin of Lucques, A.O.C. and Tavern Part Two
Segment Four: Griffin Hammond, of “Sriracha – a documentary by Griffin Hammond.”
Segment Five: Chef Instructor Robert Wemischner of L.A. Trade-Tech College
Segment Six: Pascal Olhats, owner/chef of Pascal Epicerie, Brasserie Pascal, and Café Jardin
Segment Seven: Gavin Kaysen, Executive Chef and Director of Culinary Operations for Café Boulud
Segment Eight: David LeFevre, Executive Chef & Partner of MB Post and Fishing with Dynamite

We hope you’re all enjoying the extended Thanksgiving Weekend. Remember to give us a listen along the way on Saturday morning…

As we complete our 14th month on the air with the “SoCal Restaurant Show” with Jet Tila we want to again thank our loyal listeners and sponsors for their enthusiasm and support. We wouldn’t be here without you and we never forget that.

Thanks to positive listener feedback Jet has a new segment on Friday morning. Be sure to tune in Friday mornings at 7:50 a.m. for “What’s Cooking with Travis and Chef Jet Tila” on the “Travis Rodgers Show.” Jet talks with Travis about food and cooking from the dude’s perspective. It’s on the lighter side and you won’t hear this AM 830 KLAA exclusive feature elsewhere.

Chef Jet and Producer Andy preview the show.

Suzanne GoinChef & Restaurateur Suzanne Goin is true culinary royalty in Los Angeles. She has just published her second cookbook, the A.O.C. Cookbook. It was a two year process.

Suzanne is the recipient of the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef: California (2006) and is a multiple past nominee. She worked for Alice Waters at Chez Panisse earlier in her career. Her final position at Campanile (now closed) in Hollywood (before going out on her own) was as executive chef.

Suzanne partnered with sommelier, Caroline Styne, to open Lucques in West Hollywood in 1998. That was followed by A.O.C. in 2002. Next was Tavern and The Larder in Brentwood. The President has dined at Tavern.

A new Larder is soon to open in January at The Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.

A.O.C. CookbookSuzanne talks about cooking with seasonal vegetables and how that passion of hers found its way into the A.O.C. Cookbook.

She feels it’s very important to balance flavors which you only learn by tasting.

All the recipes in the cookbook were tested in a home kitchen by an enthusiastic home cook.

Suzanne’s long-time business partner, Caroline Styne, has wonderfully informative wine notes that go with each recipe in the book.

A.O.C. (the restaurant) has recently moved a mile West to the old Orso location on W. Third Street across from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Suzanne shares how the move came about.

Griffin HammondGriffin Hammond is a respected documentary filmmaker. He’s just completed his fascinating film on Sriracha. This documentary has taken him to Southern California on multiple occasions and even to Thailand where Sriracha originated. In Thailand the people are amazed that Sriracha is a popular condiment in the United States.

Griffin financed this unusual documentary via an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign that was actually oversubscribed.

Robert WemischnerChef Instructor Robert Wemischner is a mainstay in the Baking Department at L.A. Trade Tech in Downtown Los Angeles. He’s also an accomplished pastry chef and author. The Dessert Architect is his most recent title.

Chef Bob shares his holiday dessert ideas for using fresh pomegranates, persimmons, and (the underappreciated) quince.

Pascal OlhatsThe Dean of French Chefs in Orange County is the ever charming Pascal Olhats of the Pascal Epicerie in Newport Beach. This is located next door to the site of his long-running Traditions by Pascal fine dining restaurant which he sold last year. Pascal originally came to Orange County in 1984 to open Hotel Le Meridian in Newport Beach. The property is now the Fairmont Newport Beach. Earlier in his career he worked for Master Chef Paul Bocuse (a French culinary legend) in Lyon.

In Newport Beach Pascal also operates Brasserie Pascal in Fashion Island and Café Jardin.

Pascal talks about a new fundraising effort he’s putting together to benefit the Orange County Food Bank.

How the French celebrate the Christmas meal is also part of the conversation.

Gavin kaysenGavin Kaysen is the greatly respected Executive Chef and Director of Culinary Operations for Daniel Boulud’s Café Boulud in New York, Palm Beach and Toronto.

He put previously San Diego on the national culinary map during his much-praised tenure at El Bizcocho at the Rancho Bernardo Inn. Fortunately for us he finds his way back to SoCal periodically to cook at fundraisers.

In his spare time he’s the Head Coach for Bocuse d’Or Team USA 2015. Chef Gavin has completed in this prestigious International Culinary Olympics and explains what the level of competition is all about. It’s a year of rigorous practice. Go Team USA in 2015!

Charlie TrotterEarlier in the month the food world lost Chef Charlie Trotter who was the first superstar celebrity chef in Chicago and influenced a network of young chefs. Charlie Trotter’s (the restaurant) on W. Armitage was known to foodies around the world for his innovative tasting menus and brilliant wine cellar.

Our own David LeFevre, the executive chef & partner of both MB Post and Fishing with Dynamite in Manhattan Beach worked for Charlie over a period of ten years in a couple of stints. David joins us to share memories of the real Charlie Trotter. Fortunately his legacy will live on.

Podcasts

Segment One: Host Jet Tila and Producer Andy Harris
Segment Two: Chef & Restaurateur Suzanne Goin of Lucques, A.O.C. and Tavern Part One
Segment Three: Chef & Restaurateur Suzanne Goin of Lucques, A.O.C. and Tavern Part Two
Segment Four: Griffin Hammond, of “Sriracha – a documentary by Griffin Hammond.”
Segment Five: Chef Instructor Robert Wemischner of L.A. Trade-Tech College
Segment Six: Pascal Olhats, owner/chef of Pascal Epicerie, Brasserie Pascal, and Café Jardin
Segment Seven: Gavin Kaysen, Executive Chef and Director of Culinary Operations for Café Boulud
Segment Eight: David LeFevre, Executive Chef & Partner of MB Post and Fishing with Dynamite