Vegetarian | DanaSlatkin.com

Chaya’s Vegan Japanese Minestrone

02/21/2012 By dana Leave a Comment

Los Angeles has always had a thriving restaurant scene, fueled by innovative chefs, abundant inspiration, and ever-curious diners. But when it comes to classic fine dining, there are only a handful of grandes dames left. It’s not that Angelenos don’t appreciate first-rate food, but they want it served with a fun, lighthearted vibe. In this town, stuffy and pompous just don’t fly any more. One L.A. landmark has managed to keep its hip Euro-Japanese brand of haute cuisine relevant for 27 years. Chaya Brasserie, owned by the Tsunoda family, which has been operating restaurants and tea houses in Japan for almost four centuries, is constantly reinventing the sophisticated neighborhood haunt. Chaya is where my husband took me … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Soup Recipes

Lychee Grapefruit Limeade

02/14/2012 By dana Leave a Comment

What’s your idea of romance? These days, there are a a million ways to buy it — chocolates, greeting cards, iTunes compilations, roses. But I prefer mine simple, handmade, and enduring. Growing up, Valentine’s Day was always my favorite holiday. I would stay up late the night before, glueing red and pink hearts onto doilies for my classmates and wrapping cookies for my teachers. Even our terrier, McDuff, got a special red bone to chew on. It was a day to exchange little tokens from the heart, when nothing else seemed to matter. Fast forward to a grown-up life with three busy kids, a husband, work and travel. There’s not much time for grand gestures. But what’s romantic to me now is still pint-sized. Sure, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Beverages

How to Make a Vinaigrette

02/07/2012 By dana Leave a Comment

One of the questions I am most often asked in my classes is, “How do I make a salad taste good?” The simplest answer is to make a vinaigrette from scratch. So why has the salad dressing section of supermarkets taken over nearly half the aisle? Because most people don’t realize that homemade salad dressing tastes far better and costs much less money and effort than buying one off the shelf. I’ve probably made a thousand salads in my life, and each one of them began with this formula. It’s the recipe I learned in my first week of cooking school, one that I’ve kept in my head like a mantra: 1 part acid, 2 parts oil, a smidgen of garlic and mustard, plenty of seasoning. Whether you like your vinaigrette … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Salad Recipes

Whole Grain Spaghetti with Broccoli Pesto

02/02/2012 By dana Leave a Comment

I wish you were here in Los Angeles last weekend. Warm breezes blew gently across a cloudless electric blue sky, and there was a palpable exuberance in the air. It was the perfect time to welcome a certain well-seasoned New Yorker, one with a mega presence and a delicious agenda. Mario Batali, proprietor of 19 restaurants, Iron Chef, author of eight cookbooks and television superstar, came to town. On tour to promote his latest book, Molto Batali, Mario breezed into our boardwalk café, Coast, for a sold-out lunch that included samples of several recipes, accompanied by wines from his Bastianich label. It was a meal to remember, not as much for the food, which was tasty indeed, but for the outsized personality that jumped out … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Pasta Recipes

Chocolate Sesame Panna Cotta

01/26/2012 By dana Leave a Comment

Once in a very rare while, there’s a pause in my day, when nobody needs me, there is nowhere I need to be, and all is quiet. A shot of bliss. It’s when you’ll usually find me doing one of two things: hiking or playing the piano. Last week, there was one such moment and, while playing a Bach fugue, this dessert came to me. I had been trying to come up with the grand finale for my Modern Mediterranean class, featuring the owner of Momed Beverly Hills. I was looking for the impossibly perfect dessert with a Mediterranean twist. It had to be decadent but light, simple to make but complex in flavor, minutes to prep but memorable. And in the middle of a particularly melodious contrapuntal passage, I thought of halvah, the Middle … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dessert Recipes

Miso-Maple Glazed Brussels Sprouts

01/20/2012 By dana Leave a Comment

One of the perks of writing a food blog is the culinary journey I get to take each week. Just in the past few days, I’ve traipsed from France to Turkey to Greece and Japan, crossing over borders without leaving the dinner table. I even get to drag my family along for the ride. Last night’s dinner combined a trip to Paris (cheese fondue) with a stopover in Kyoto for these sweet and salty glazed Brussels sprouts. Once the baguette and roasted potatoes were gone, the kids and husband had no choice but to venture their skewers to the bowl of little green-brown orbs, dunking them into the rich, ever-so-funky fondue. Much to my surprise, the sprouts disappeared in minutes. Try them over brown rice or quinoa, as a side dish for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Side Dish Recipes

Pasta with Creamy Vodka Sauce

01/11/2012 By dana Leave a Comment

A new year can seem like a mixed blessing. It’s 12 more months to accomplish our dreams, to matter more, to shoot for the moon. But from here it looks dang overwhelming. The holidays are over, and the next vacation seems miles away. Only a few weeks in and I am already snowed under. So I remember the words of my mother, the best pep-talker in the world: “Take small bites, and your plate won’t seem so full.” Whether you’re trying to lose weight, get organized, go meatless, or just be happier, take it one morsel at a time. One of my goals for this year is to help my kids learn to love what’s good for them. So I came up with this vegan pasta dish. The appealingly pink sauce uses no butter or cream … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Pasta Recipes

Vegetable Torte

01/06/2012 By dana Leave a Comment

Some of you like to start out the year with resolutions. A few days into 2012, and I’m betting you’re still on a roll. This month, you’re rocking your new clean, virtuous lifestyle. Bravo! Me, I’m back in the kitchen, cooking up comfort food. Because in the first few weeks of the year, I’d rather do anything than get back to work. Call me sentimental, but I want to hang on to the warm glow of the holidays for as long as possible (maybe that’s why I can’t bring myself to toss all those shiny, happy holiday cards). So even though it hardly feels like winter here, I’m sticking with hearty, reassuring fare. This beautiful vegetable torte fits the bill. I’ve made it several times for dinner … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vegetarian Recipes