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Dexter's Final Cut: A Novel by Jeff Lindsay

Dexter's Final Cut
A Novel
by Jeff Lindsay

Hardcover, 368 pages

I love Dexter. I love the books, I love the show, I love the whole concept of this monster hero with the wry sense of humour. It satisfies my need for Dark.

This most recent book of the series is Dex at his best. Who else would he feel at home with than the seemingly soulless Hollywood machine?

Our poor dark hero is the model for a new TV show and finds himself being observed at his workplace by an overly interested actor. This makes it hard for Dexter to do his dark deeds, harder still to work on his cases while he has to babysit stars and duck paparazzi. Still, Dreamy Dex finds himself caught up in the machinations and romanticism of Hollywood life, even while the body count grows.

You can never get enough Dexter!


From the back flap: 
Hollywood gets more than it bargained for when television's hottest star arrives at the Miami Police Department and develops an intense, professional interest in a camera-shy blood spatter analyst named Dexter Morgan.
Mega-star Robert Chase is famous for losing himself in his characters. When he and a group of actors descend on the Miami Police Department for "research," Chase becomes fixated on Dexter Morgan, the blood spatter analyst with a sweet tooth for doughnuts and a seemingly average life. To perfect his role, Chase is obsessed with shadowing Dexter's every move and learning what really makes him tick. There is just one tiny problem . . . Dexter's favorite hobby involves hunting down the worst killers to escape legal justice, and introducing them to his special brand of playtime. It's a secret best kept out of the spotlight and away from the prying eyes of bloated Hollywood egos if Dexter wants to stay out of the electric chair. The last thing he needs is bright lights and the paparazzi. . . but even Dexter isn't immune to the call of fame.
Jeff Lindsay's razor sharp, devilish wit, and immaculate pacing prove that he is in a class of his own, and this new novel is his most masterful creation yet.


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An Intimate Sushi Omakase Experience at Nozawa Bar (Beverly Hills)

When they built Sugarfish in Beverly Hills, they had planned for Nozawa Bar all along and kept a room in the back for that sole purpose. Now, Nozawa Bar is open and taking reservations for ten people, two seatings per night for a sushi omakase experience. It's not Nozawa wielding the knife, but Osamu Fujita has long worked with Nozawa and has his stamp of approval. After my omakase meal there, I would say perhaps the setting and timing actually allows for a more refined experience than the busy Sushi Nozawa was in Studio City.

I knew my sushi, or thought I did, but for more than a couple of courses at Nozawa Bar I had a few moments where I went "no way, that wasn't ...". There were moments of learning that season really matters, and preparation matters. More on that later, on to the meal first.

As I said, there are two seatings per night for everyone (at 6PM and 8:30PM), so don't be late! I was five minutes late and missed Fujita-san slicing up the jelly fish for the first course. I didn't miss eating the course, though, luckily (everyone is served the courses at the same time).
jellyfish
The crisp jellyfish was a nice opener to whet your appetite.
Sashimi plate of tuna and octopus before moving on to nigiri sushi
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The nigiri courses start out with a bang with the chu toro. This a blue fin tuna chu toro, although the fattiness is close to oo toro.
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Just like Nozawa's style, the rice is served slightly warm so that the sushi feels like it's melting in your mouth.

Ika (squid)
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Fresh and firm squid on top of a shiso leaf.

Switching to the opposite spectrum of texture is a perfectly creamy Santa Barbara uni
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A generous serving of it, too!

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CAST: The Reinvented Restaurant at Viceroy Santa Monica

Whist at The Viceroy in Santa Monica has reinvented itself as CAST, but Chef Tony DiSalvo is still going strong in the kitchen. The new name, CAST, draws focus to its proximity to the ocean and the seafood dishes.

Pay attention to the crostini section, and don't miss the sea urchin crostini with sea salt, lemon, and larda ($6 each). Perfectly creamy, and the light dressing of salt and lemon brings out the rich flavors even more.
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Equally worthy but less of a splurge is the burrata crostini with pesto, tomato ($3 each). This was also one of the creamiest burrata I've had in LA.
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The crostinis are thin, meant to serve as a vessel to the uni and burrata without masking the flavors.
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Oh, if you are on Instagram, be sure to take a photo and tag @viceroySM. You will get a free glass of sparkling wine for doing so! For a glass of white wine that will go with seafood dishes, we enjoyed the 2010 Supernatural Sauvignon Blanc, Napa, California ($13).

It's not all seafood here, of course. Chef DiSalvo kept his famous Lamb Kefta meatballs because riots might break out if he ever takes it off the menu. At the moment they are served with orange, pistachio, and yogurt ($10)
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We started our feast with the Diver scallops, dungeness crab risotto, snap peas, shiso vinaigrette ($18 or $33 for full size - I believe the one pictured is the half size)
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Perfectly cooked scallops, creamy risotto with chunks of sweet crab, crisp snap peas. What a nice seafood dish, the flavors are light yet satisfying.
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Obsessions + Confessions

Time to share my latest obsessions and confessions. Are you ready?

Fall is officially here and I don't mind at all if it means I get to gulp down Pumpkin Frappuccinos. Healthy ones, at that! 

Speaking of... I've been stockin up on all things fall! Pumpkin spice bagels and english muffins and cream cheese and yogurt. I'm OBSESSED with the apple crisp yogurt. 

Possibly the best stuffed mushrooms ever?

All of my favorite things in one blondie 

Summer + fall all in one. Still holding on to summer as much as I can!

Tailgator Nachos for football season. 

Stacks and stacks and stacks of pork paninis

Brownies topped with peanut butter cookies. Love you long time. 

I want this Healthy Chipotle Sweet Corn Fettuccine right now for breakfast at 9:00 AM. 

Banana Cream Pie Ice Box Cake, you're the banana of my eye. Wait, what?

These Homemade Corn Dogs have me daydreaming about summer county fairs. 

This here's one long recipe name, but I'd eat these Grilled Mac N Beer Cheese Sliders with Bacon, Beer & Tomato Jam every day for the rest of my life. I do not lie.

My all-time favorite dessert is Pineapple Upside Down Cake but this Upside Down Strawberry Cake would probably be a close 2nd.

27 of the greatest moments in the history of parenting
I want at least two kids just so I can do#5
#8 sounds like a mighty fine museum
#11 is just genius
#13... luggage face plant
#16... oh, only in Walmart
#17.... BURNNNNN! good one mom
#19... creepy and hysterical all at once
#21... moths ARE scary!
#25 will most def be happening at my house very soon, minus the kids :)
#27 and #28 make me smile from ear to ear

You know you're having a good time when you stay for 4 hours eating sushi and drinking wine with grade school friends.

I led my first group counseling session this week... alone... by myself... with 6 high school students. I'm terrified and have no idea what I'm doing.

So doing this


































Have a great week, friends!


Peace, and bacon grease!




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Martha Stewart's Cakes!

Martha Stewart's Cakes
Our First-Ever Book of Bundts, Loaves, Layers, 
Coffee Cakes, and more
by the Editors of Martha Stewart Living

Trade Paperback, 352 pages

Martha came out with a book on cakes during the month of my birthday. I like to think this was planned. I was certainly excited!

She has done pies, cookies, cupcakes and wedding cakes, but this is the first book on cakes in general. The book has a wonderful array of cake styles and varieties, including:

Loaves
Bundts & Tubes
Coffee Cakes
Single Layers
Cheesecakes
Icebox
Cakes with Fruit
Layer Cakes
plus
Frosting and filling recipes, easy garnishes, 
and other finishing touches

Martha Stewart's Cakes is well laid out, easy to follow and has a full colour photo of each and every recipe. 

Chocolate Bundt Cake

From the back flap:
A one-stop resource for cakes—birthday, chocolate, coffee, Bundt, upside-down, loaf, and more. From pound cake and angel food (with many variations) to genoise and streusel-topped, from comfort classics like red velvet, six-layer coconut, rich chocolate, lemon meringue, and cheesecake to sophisticated grown-up fare including chiffon cakes and tortes with luscious fruits, these 150 recipes and color photographs cover techniques, decorating, and gifting ideas for every taste and occasion, whether no-fuss or fancy.
Maple Cake

Baking trends come and go, but cakes are timeless. From the editors and photographers of Martha Stewart Living, Cakes includes classics (German Chocolate, New York-Style Cheesecake), crowd-pleasers (Baked Alaska, Hummingbird), and cakes with unique, sophisticated flavors and embellishments (Pecan Torte with Lemon Curd, Saffron-Scented Pear Upside-Down Cake). Whether you need a birthday cake (for any age!), have bake-sale duty, want a travel-friendly coffee cake, or seek to impress at a dinner party or with a handmade gift, Martha Stewart's Cakes has more than 150 cakes plus ideas for decorating, gifting, and storing. Beautiful color photography that shows you just what you're aiming for and dozens of make-ahead tips make baking low-stress.
Pumpkin Layer Cake
 With 150 recipes in all, you will always have the perfect cake recipe for your occasions! 


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Save the Date: IAMLA's Annual Taste of Italy on October 12

We all know how great Italian food and wines are, and we have some great restaurants in Los Angeles, so a Taste of Italy festival in Los Angeles certainly sounds good! The 5th Annual Taste of Italy will be held on October 12, 2013, at beautiful, historic Pico House in downtown LA. The event benefits the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles, which is planned to open in early 2014.
Participants include Di Stefano Cheese (who makes the best burrata in town), Bulgarini Gelato and GROM (my two favorite gelaterias), Trattoria Neapolis, Drago Centro, Il Grano, Fabio Viviani's Cafe Firenze, and more. The event also boasts 100+ Italian wines to be poured (see more participants listed here).

There will be live entertainment from Italian artists and "chanteuses".

The $55 general admission ticket gets you 6 food tickets and 4 beverage tickets (more tickets are available for purchase at the event). The $125 VIP ticket gets you VIP entrance (and red carpet photo), 6 food and 6 beverage tickets, a VIP gift bag, and 20% off your purchase at Gastromercato. Tickets can be purchased here.
PLUS, get $5 OFF your ticket purchase with code GOURMETPIGS.

Want to win VIP tickets for you and your friends? You can create a video of yourself singing Taste of Italy or the SoCal Italian American history for a shot to win (see more details here).

When: October 12, 2013. 5-10PM

Where: Pico House
424 N. Main St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
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Ginger Pineapple Rum Punch

Ginger beer.

 






























































How do you guys feel about it? 

I don't think I could drink it straight up, just as a normal everyday drink. But mixed with some rum and pineapple juice? I'm down.

I had bought some at Trader Joe's out of curiosity and needed a reason to use them up. This cocktail seemed like the perfect opportunity. Use some kinda rum... the recipe calls for dark rum but I used Morgan's Spiced Rum which isn't a dark rum but it's what I had on hand, and it's probably why my cocktails are lighter in color than Dara's. Oh well, rummmmmmm. 




Ginger Pineapple Rum Punch
from Cookin Canuck
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1 cup ginger beer
  • 1 and 1/2 cups Jamaican dark rum
  • 2 cups pineapple juice
  • Ice
In a pitcher, combine lime juice, ginger beer, rum and pineapple juice. Stir well to combine.

Fill glasses with ice and pour in the punch.

If you prefer to make the punch in advance, mix together all of the ingredients except the ginger beer. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Stir in the ginger beer immediately before serving. You can increase or decrease rum and/or pineapple juice as desired.


Printable Recipe





Depending how you like your drinks, you can add more or less pineapple juice or rum than the recipe calls for.

 






























































Fill er up with plenty of ice + this cocktail and you've got yourself a Friday night.


Peace, and bacon grease!




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Drago Centro's Latest Cocktail Menu and Bartender

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Yes, there has been a lot of changes in the bar management at Dragon Centro, but the man in charge now has actually been there for a while. Jason Eisner came to work at Drago Centro because he was inspired and wanted to work with Jaymee Mandeville. Now he's taken his experience and designed a fun menu for Drago Centro.

He enhanced whiskey sour with apple nectar in the namesake Drago Sour (bourbon, fuji apple nectar, lemon, maple syrup, egg white, angostura - $10)
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One of my favorites was the Italian Roots ($14) with cognac, ciaciaro amaro, demerara syrup, chocolate bitters, angostura, vanilla bourbon extract, fernet branca whipped cream
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This is Jason's version of an adult root beer. It smells just like root beer and tastes like a less sweet, more complex version of root beer. And that fernet whipped cream? So much awesomeness.
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Muffin-Pan Potato Gratins


























































It's Secret Recipe Club time again. One of my fave times of each month!

























































This month I was assigned to the blog, A Couple in the Kitchen. So many good recipes like their award-winning Sweet Chili and Coconut Corn Soup, which I was so tempted to make, and their Cider Sage Gravy would be perfect for the quickly-approaching fall season. But ultimately though I chose these rich and tasty potatoes. Because if you hadn't guessed by my name, I'm a potato freak! Plus I love the idea of using muffin pans for these individual gratins.

This recipe calls for gruyere cheese, which can be a bit pricey. You can substitute comte or beaufort - A French cheese.... or a more easily-accessible Swiss cheese. I loved the gruyere cheese in this potato dish. I made the mistake of only using one jumbo sized russet potato. Go ahead and use two large russet potatoes if you can... I would have liked more potatoes in my stacks. If you have a mandolin slicer (I've seen it spelled mandolin and mandoline, not sure what's correct), then use that to thinly slice the potatoes. I just used a knife but of course there were some inconsistencies in thickness. But we still loved and devoured these cheesy, creamy, crispy stacks.




Muffin-Pan Potato Gratins
from A Couple in the Kitchen
  • 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons white pepper
  • 6 ounces grated gruyere cheese
  • 1 and 3/4 cups heavy cream
  • 2 ounces grated parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease the cups of a 12-muffin pan. 

Layer each cup with potato slice, topped with salt and white pepper, and gruyere cheese. Continue to layer like this until each muffin cup is full. Add two tablespoons of heavy cream to each muffin cup. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. 

Remove the foil and top each stack with the parmesan cheese, dividing evenly. Return to oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Allow to cool before removing from pan.

Printable Recipe



























































I'll make these again and again. They're not a lot of work, but seem so fancy. Rich, filling, indulgent... exactly what food should be. These mini gratins will make a perfect side to any meal. But maybe keep the main course light  :)

Check out my past Secret Recipe Club posts




Peace, and bacon grease!



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Casual and Healthy Lunch at Twist Eatery

Twist Eatery recently opened in La Brea, serving breakfast, lunch and baked goods along with coffee.
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The lunch menu is mostly healthy (although they do have a burger if you're so inclined).
I got the Salmon Bowl, with lentil, quinoa salad tossed in a pomegranate, vinaigrette served with moroccan spiced salmon and a citrus salsa ($14)
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The salmon was nicely cooked, still moist, and the sauce and dressing were flavorful yet still light. I really liked this for a healthy yet still filling lunch.
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September 28: Trattoria Neapolis One Year Anniversary Celebration (Pasadena, CA)

Trattoria Neapolis is one of my favorite places in Pasadena, both for food and drinks, and they're celebrating their one year anniversary next week! On Saturday September 28, starting at 7pm, the different rooms and balcony will turn into different tasting areas with food from Chef Bryant Wigger, wine, beers, distilleries, and Stumptown coffee. Since the menu is not posted on their website, I wanted to share it with you here!

Tickets are only $60 (advance purchase) and looks like it will be a great value! Plus $10 of each ticket purchase will be donated to Foothill Family Service. You can purchase the tickets in advance by calling (626) 792-3000.

Here's the menu and the list of wineries/breweries/distilleries!


TASTING MENU:

A few bite-sized versions of dishes will include:

Vitello Tonnato
Veal Tenderloin, Frisee, Caperberries, Grana Padano
& Ahi Tuna-Caper Aioli

Wood Grilled Baby Octopus
Crispy Potato Torta, Cerignola Olives & Lemon

Arancini
Crispy Lobster Arancini, Sweet Basil, Mozzarella
& Lemon Aioli

Barolo Risotto
Braised Oxtail, Sautéed Brussels Sprouts
& Castelrosso Cheese

Rabbit
Rosemary, Roasted Garlic, Chestnut Farrotto
& Crostini Toscano

Tiramisu
Roasted Bartlett Pears, House Made Ladyfingers, Mascarpone,
Buttered Pecans, Pear Moscato Sorbetto
& Salted Caramel

Bombolini
Pumpkin Spiced Mini Italian Donuts, Limoncello & Pumpkin Crema,
& Candied Pecans
PARTICIPATING
VENDORS:                               
U.S. West Coast Wineries
Duckhorn Vineyards
Stags Leap Wine Cellars
Northstar Winery
Erath Winery
Antica Napa Valley
Rutherford Ranch
Stolpman Vineyards
Frog’s Leap Winery

Italian Wineries
Antinori
Tormaresca
Castello della Sala
Col de’ Salici
Donnafugata
Maculan
Villa Sandi
Cantele
Tenuta
Luisa
Suavia
Moretti Omero
Riseccoli
Tenuta Monteti
Tenuta Argentiera

Distillers & Spirits

Bourbon
Buffalo Trace
Maker’s Mark
Maker’s Mark 46
Rye Whiskey
Templeton Old
Overholt
Knob Creek

Vodka
Tito’s

Scotch
Famous Grouse
Black Grouse

Single Malt Scotch
Auchentoshan Three Wood
Bowmore Islay

Limoncello
Limoncello Originale
Orangecello Blood Orange

Beer
Eagle Rock Brewery
Bootleggers Brewery
Telegraph Brewery
The Bruery

Coffee
Stumptown Coffee Roasters

WHEN:                  Saturday, September 28th
                             7:00 p.m.

WHERE:                336 South Lake Avenue
Pasadena, California 91101

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