3 on Fourth

This intimate SM neighborhood place, offers many small plate options and an entrées. The menu is influenced by three regions: America, Europe and Japan. Hence the "3" on Fourth.

Daniel Snukal, a former private chef and caterer, along with his brother Joshua, have created 3 on Fourth in Santa Monica, CA. It is a gem waiting to be found.

It is encouraged to order your meal anyway you prefer. Do you only want a few small plates or a small plate for an appetizer and then a large plate for an entrée? Ordering small plates is such a great way to experiment with what a new restaurant has to offer.

We arrived on a Saturday night at 7:30pm and received a table right away. This won't happen for very much longer because as soon as this new spot is received you will need a reservation like everywhere else.

I loved the attention from the staff. It wasn't just a "Can I offer you what you need to make your visit special?". Each one of the staff we came in contact were excited about the food. They were each personally invested in what was being served and could not wait to share it with us.

We had three small plate options and one of the large plate entrees. We had the Crispy Coriander and Ginger Shrimp. This is the only item still on the menu from when the place originally opened seven months ago. It was simply delicious. We had the Green Pea Ravioli with Scallop, Mascarpone and Ricotta as our large plate. It was a filling of peas pureed with the sweet texture of the cheese and wrapped inside a perfect al dente pasta shell.

This small place has their own Sommelier. He had wonderful suggestions. We were quite pleased with his recommendations and are excited to try more options on our next visit. He suggested we try two half bottles of wine due to our small plate selections. If you are into wine, I recommend you give him a chance to offer you suggestions.

The only so-so thing about the place is their desserts. We tried the flourless chocolate Cake. It wasn't very good. It could be that the rest of the meal was so good that my expectations were too high. The cake was very dry and didn't have much flavor.

Next time for dinner, I plan to try their version of scrambled eggs. I am intrigued by all of the sake they have to offer and would like to try some of them.

3 on Fourth recently started a lunch menu. I am anxious to see what a noon time experience can offer!

-Fer


3 on Fourth
1432 A Fourth Street
Santa Monica, CA 9040
(310) 395-6765
www.3onfourth.com

Say "Cheese"!

Have you ever wondered why or how Swiss cheese has holes?

Propionibacter shermani is one of the three types of bacteria used to make Swiss cheese. It is what is responsible for the cheese's distinctive holes. Once this bacteria is added to the warm cheese mixture, bubbles of carbon dioxide form and are what will eventually to become the holes or "eyes" in the cheese. Cheesemakers can control the size of the holes by changing the acidity, temperature, and curing time of the mixture.

The larger the eyes in a Swiss cheese the more pronounced its flavor. This is because the same conditions that lead to large holes (longer aging or higher temperatures) also give the acting bacteria and enzymes more time to produce flavor.

Larger holes do not slice well and come apart in mechanical slicers. Leave it to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to create guidelines that regulate the hole size of domestically produced Swiss cheese! All of this to help the cheese have less problems in slicing.

The Color of Food

The color of food has a huge impact on what we will percieve the taste to be. Recently, while I was making the Green Tea Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, I had a strong desire for the ice cream to be green. I struggled because adding food color isn't necessarily healthy. I love food to be simple and pure but I still struggled. Could the ice cream be good without being green? I have had mint ice cream without it being green and it was delicious. So-why am I so much more attracted to a green mint chocolate chip than a white, plain one? If the ice cream was green, it would look more minty and then maybe it would taste more minty.

I recently read an article about a new study. It is the first of its kind to examine how color, price or brand can impact consumer preferences.

The researchers manipulated the color of orange juice by adding food coloring and changed the the sweetness by adding an artificial sweetener. The results were calculated from the taste tests of 60 to 150 undergraduate students. The conclusion was that the color of the juice dominated the taste perception of the students.

This test also included a taste test with juice glasses labeled with a brand name vs. a generic name and how the taste would be percieved. For this test they also changed the color of the juice. The juice was exactly the same brand in each glass but the tasters identified the taste as different. The article states: "The findings revealed that people preferred the samples that had brand labels over those that had different colors. However, they noticed a bigger difference in taste when the samples had different colors rather than when they had different labels".

Fer Food Friday

"Edible, adj.: Good to eat, and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pig, a pig to a man, and a man to a worm." Ambrose Bierce

Pretzel Croissant Madness!

It blows me away how good the pretzel croissants are at City Bakery. Traditionally when I go to a bakery I go for the sweet stuff. A chocolate chip cookie, a chocolate croissant or a pastry of some sort. When I enter into City Bakery all I can think about is these pretzel croissants. What a great combination. The salt of a pretzel meets the sweet soft texture of a croissant.

-Fer

The City Bakery
Brentwood Country Mart
225 26th St. (San Vicente Blvd.)
Santa Monica, CA 90402
310-656-3040

Green Tea and Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

This is a flavor I made up one day. The tea ingredient was inspired from the truffles I made last week. The idea of infusing ice cream with tea sounded promising. I gave it a try.

Mint Chocolate Chip is one of my favorite ice cream flavors. I was excited to make this flavor but wanted a new twist on it. I love green tea and thought that it would be a great flavor combination with mint and chocolate. The combination was a success. I really like it.

I was concerned about the chocolate and how it would be added into the ice cream. I didn't want the chips too large to overpower the other delicate flavors. I wanted it to be in small pieces and to mix thoroughly into the ice cream. I tried traditional chips in different sizes. The chips all seemed to be too large so I tried to chop them by hand. I tried placing the chips thorough a food processor. Nothing turned out right. I wasn't satisfied until I bought a chocolate bar and shaved the chocolate with a knife. The shaved chocolate pieces are a perfect size once they are mixed through the ice cream maker.

There were some other questions I wanted to solve. How much mint is too much? Would the green tea make the ice cream green enough or did I need to add food color?

The green tea I had selected had mint in it. It was my thought that this would be my mint flavoring and maybe my food coloring. The tea added a nice mint flavor but not a strong enough mint flavor for the 2-Quart recipe. I needed to add a teaspoon of peppermint extract to enhance the flavor.

The green tea made the milk green but not green enough. I added two drops of green food color. I wanted the color to have a strong hint of green but not to be too GREEN. Two drops is the perfect amount for the color I wanted.

Green Tea and Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream:

1 Cup Cold Whole Milk
1/4 Cup Mint Green Tea (loose tea leaves)
3/4 Cup Sugar
2 Cups Cold Heavy Cream
1 Teaspoon Peppermint Extract
4 Ounces Bittersweet Chocolate (shaved into pieces and slightly chopped)
2 Drops Green Food Coloring

Place milk into sauce pan and add the 1/4 Cup green tea leaves. Bring to simmer. Do not boil. Turn off heat and allow mixture to set for 2-3 minutes.

Put the sugar into a medium sized bowl. Strain the milk over the sugar removing the tea leaves from the milk.

Use a hand mixer and combine the milk and sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Place this mixture into a freezer bowl. Add cream. Turn machine on and add extract and 2 drops of coloring.

While ice cream is cooking, shave and chop chocolate into uneven pieces to add later to mixture. I prefer bittersweet chocolate but you may wish to try semi-sweet.

Cook until thickened, about 25-30 minutes. Add chocolate during the last 5 minutes of mixing. Scrape the final mixture in a closed, air tight container and freeze for atleast 3-4 hours before serving.

-Fer

Seafood Watch

I think it is appalling that our fish supply is contaminated. Doesn't this bother anyone? Isn't there something we can do? When it comes to pollution and care of the earth I find myself feeling so inadequate in making a difference in the world. But, there are things we each can do to make a difference. Our world is just in such a sad shape it is going to take time to see any significant change happen.

The fish selections we chose to eat can make a difference. We should only buy sustainable seafood from fisheries and farms that care for the environment and ocean wildlife. Sustainable seafood is either fished or farmed, that can maintain or increase production into the long-term without jeopardizing the affected ecosystems.

When buying fish it is sometimes difficult to know where the seafood is coming from whether you are in a neighborhood grocery store or restaurant. If you aren't sure ask. If no one can answer your questions chose something else or somewhere else to shop. The Monterey Bay Aquarium offers a pocket guideline of the fish we should and should not eat. These pocket guides are updated twice per year. These guides are offered by US region. To download one for your area visit here.

A Sandwich is More Than Just a Sandwich

There is so much written about fancy food or gourmet food. It seems that the simple comforts in life, our everyday foods, get lost in the mix.

Sandwiches. They are the simple everyday food. Sandwiches are not difficult to prepare. Everyone knows how to make them. The varieties of them are endless. Typically a sandwich is eaten with your hands, which makes it casual in nature so no one is intimidated about how to eat it. They can easily be brought with you everywhere and anywhere you go. Poor Mr. Sandwich so much to offer yet so forgotten.

The word sandwich is from the late 1700s, when at very late hours, an English nobleman named John Montagu (the Fourth Earl of Sandwich) was too busy gambling to stop for a meal even though he was hungry. The legend has it that he asked a waiter to bring him some roast beef between two slices of bread. He asked for the meat between the slices of bread so he wouldn’t get his fingers greasy while he was playing cards. The actual word “Sandwich” comes from Old English Sandwic, and literally means “sand village”, “Sandy Place”, or “Place on the Sand”.

I have found that my favorite sandwiches are about fresh ingredients and the style of bread. My three favorites are (from photo top to bottom):

1. Turkey Breast, mache, sliced purple onion, vine-ripe tomato and mayo on a pretzel roll.

2. Pastrami on dark rye with Dijon and Muenster cheese. This one is delicious hot too.

3. Cheddar cheese, sliced avocado, sprouts and mayo on mutli-grain or sour dough bread.

As I thought more about my favorites, I still need to mention two more: grilled cheese with tomato on sour dough or an egg salad sandwich on rye with a pickle spear on the side.

My first sandwich I ever had was a honey and peanut butter on thick wheat bread. I still like this sandwich. The peanut butter has to be thick and the bread fresh.

What are your favorite sandwich styles or recipes? Why do you like them? What was the first sandwich you ever remember eating?

-Fer

Girl Scout Cookies

It's that time of year again. This is their 90th year for cookies! If you haven't seen a girl scout lately you soon will. They are $4.00 a box (I remember when they were $1.75 a box). My favorite flavor is the thin mints. I love them out of the freezer. The cookie season is from late Jan thru late March. If you can't find a scout, find one at girlscoutcookies.org

Lox and a Bagel

A favorite lunch or even a quick weeknight dinner consists of lox, cream cheese, chopped onion, capers and a bagel. It is a simple delicious meal that is easy to make, fast to create and yet so rewarding to eat.

Make a platter of the ingredients. Slow it down. Take a seat. It is time to create your own bagel, your own way. Do you like your cream cheese thick or thin? Do you like your onions chopped or sliced paper thin? The trick is not to overpower the lox by adding too much of the extras. No matter how much fun it is to add them!

-Fer

Root Beer Taste Test

We love root beer. We love taste tests. So why not do a taste test of root beers? We taste tested eight different root beers and documented our findings. It is amazing how each of them were so different from the others. We didn't do this as a blind test like we did our water test. We didn't feel that the branding of root beer had affected our judgement like bottled water. We found a huge difference between the root beers that used corn syrup to those that used natural cane sugar. We have noted that below. The natural cane sugar was far superior than those which used syrup. We also found it interesting that lower the carbonation the more distinctive the flavors. Less carbonation is a characteristic found in early root beer recipes. Root beer was first introduced to the public in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. For more history read here.

Here are our findings:

Briar's Premium Root Beer: Sweetened by corn syrup, this low carbonation variety left you well aware you were experiencing an old-fashioned style microbrew. What took us by surprise about this one was identfying a subtle but significant element of walnut. It has a nice clean finish.

Capt'n Eli's Root Beer: Flavored with pure cane sugar. The wintergreen oil in this one added a refreshing compliment to the anise . This would be great to enjoy during the summertime. It was light and refreshing.

Gale's Root Beer: Sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, this beer was an exception to the rule. Although sweetened with syrup, Gale's remained light and less syrupy than the others. It was the cinnamon that popped out from the first sip that earned our "most unique" distinction.

Henry Weinhard's Root Beer: This was more syrupy than the others likely due to it being sweetened with corn syrup. We also seem to think while it tasted good we were also aware that this seemed to be manufactured to taste like root beer. We placed this as the same category as Stewart's in that it tastes more like a traditional soft drink rather than good old-fashioned root beer.

IBC Root Beer: It was a favorite growing up. It has a distinctive malt taste which is a different direction than the others reviewed. It is one of the most carbonated options. We like it as our standby root beer.

Stewart's Original Root Beer: Easily our least favorite. This corn syrup sweetened brand seemed to have the least actual root beer taste and seemed to rely more on delivering its taste through smell than through the tongue. The closest approximation to another root beer taste would be what is provided by root beer flavored Dum Dums.

Thomas Kemper Soda Co. Root Beer: This was a fair and standard root beer. This was not so much bad as it didn't have a distinctive characteristic compared to the others. Given the choice between a Thomas Kemper and Stewart's, we'd grab this one every time.

Virgil's Micro Brewed Root Beer: Last but not at all least, Virgil's was our top favorite. This is truly a root beer lovers root beer. Virgil's is the most represenative of the quesential rootbeer taste. It has robust licorice tones, strong anise flavors and plenty of fizz. It would be the best for a root beer float! Virgil's was our top choice for root beer walking into this taste test and we are proud to say it remains one of our favorites.

Our recap: While Virgil's and IBC remain our standard favorites, if you're looking for something more distinctive, characteristic and unique, you should give Gale's or Capt'n Eli's a try. We will review more root beers as we find them so check back. If you don't see your favorite listed above, write and tell us about it. We would love to review it and add it to our list.

-Fer

2/13/07 Update: Check out the second installment of our root beer taste test here.
6/28/07 Update: Check out the third installment of our root beer taste test here.

Tea Infused Chocolate Truffles

Valentine's Day = Chocolate. Why don't we just call it "Chocolate Day"?
Being the chocoholic that I am, I decided to try and make my own. I have a friend that makes tea infused chocolate truffles. I thought I would give that recipe a try. I think his recipe tastes similar to one I found. The recipe I was given didn't offer many specific steps. I used the recipe for some of the ingredients and then decided for myself the steps to create the truffles.
The process is rather easy once you get the chocolate selected correctly. Have you ever been to a shop with 25+ varieties of chocolate to choose from? All of these options make it difficult to choose! The recipe called for both extra bittersweet chocolate and bittersweet chocolate. The "bitter" or "sweet" of the chocolate has to do with the cocoa percentage. The higher the percentage the more bitter and less sweet the chocolate. Bittersweet starts at 50% cocoa solids. Less than 50% cocoa solids is semi-sweet. 99% cocoa solids is an unsweeted baking chocolate the most bitter and least sweet. I decided for my recipe I would use a bittersweet chocolate in two varieties: 70% and 72%. I tend to be someone who loves a dark (more bitter) chocolate. Next time, I thought I would try something darker, but my choices ended up great in this recipe. I don't think I will change the percentages next time but maybe try different brands. To melt chocolate, it's best to buy it in bars and not chips. Chips contain less cocoa butter so that they can hold their shape in cookies, but this makes them harder to melt and less tasty.

There is a choice to be made regarding the type of cocoa that is used for your truffles. There is a difference between "regular cocoa" and "dutch processed". If the cocoa is dark almost black, it is of the "regular" or "natural" variety. If you are looking at a brick red colored cocoa, it is "dutch processed" or "European chocolate". Dutch processed cocoa powder has been treated with an alkali which neutralizes the powder’s natural acidity. The result is a smooth and milder flavor than natural cocoa powder. It's the preferred cocoa (depending on who you speak to). I read a lot about the different types of cocoa and I found many people also prefer the "natural" cocoa for drinking. Hershey's is a common regular or natural cocoa brand. Natural cocoa is also used for baking and the dust on candies and cakes.The package will not say "natural". It will just say cocoa. It is stronger, dark and more bitter compared to dutch processed.

Tea Infused Chocolate Truffles:

1-1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream
1/4 cup loose tea leaves, not bags. I used Earl Grey but I am excited at the thought of how different teas can be used to infuse different flavors into the truffles. I encourage you to experiment!
5 ounces extra-bittersweet chocolate
(I used 72% Cocoa), finely chopped
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
(I used 70% Cocoa), coarsely chopped
1 cup unsweetened dutch-processed cocoa powder
(I used Valrhona, unsweetened, dutch processed).

In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream and tea leaves to a simmer. Turn off the heat and let the mixture infuse for 2 minutes. The tea leaves will become larger as they absorb the liquid of the cream.

Chop the extra-bittersweet chocolate (5 ounces)in a food processor for 5-6 pulses. Place this chopped chocolate in a bowl. Strain the hot cream over the chocolate, discarding the tea leaves. Depending on the size strainer, this may take a few times using the strainer and dumping out the tea leaves each time to allow the milk to strain properly onto the chocolate. I use a spoon in the strainer to push the tea leaves side to side to allow the cream to flow. The original recipe called out for only a 1-1/4 Cup of cream but I found I needed a little more to melt the chocolate properly. I use a total of 1-1/2 Cups of cream. After the cream is poured onto the chocolate, let the mixture rest for 1 minute, then whisk until the chooclate is melted and smooth. Cover the chocolate with plastic wrap and chill until the mixture is set. This will take about 4-6 hours.

After the chocolate has set, use a teaspoon to scoop out each truffle. You may wish to try a melon baller but I found a teaspoon worked just fine. Roll each piece of scooped chocolate in your hands to make rounded balls. This is very messy! Try to keep the balls consistent in size. The size should be about the size of a large gum ball or smaller. Refrigerate the truffles for 30 minutes to firm them.

Using a double boiler or a metal bowl suspended over a pot of simmering water, melt two thirds of the bittersweet chocolate. After the chocolate is melted, remove the boiler top or bowl from over the water and add the remaining chopped chocolate. (This time, I chopped the chocolate into larger pieces with a large knife). Stir continously until the chocolate is melted and smooth and feels room temperature. This tempers the chocolate (giving it a sheen and crispness).

Next, (This is the fun part!) place the cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Drop the chocolate balls one by one into the melted chocolate, turning them with a fork to coat them. Lift the truffle ball out of the chocolate and drop them into the cocoa powder. I found using a fork for the chocolate along with a wooden spoon helped to roll the chocolate over the ball more evenly. I also used a separate fork to roll the ball into the cocoa until they are completely coated.

The truffles keep for about five days. So, eat them while they are fresh! Depending on the size you make your chocolate ball, this recipe (large gumball size) will make about 20 truffles. The truffles are very rich so a smaller bite size ball is appropriate.

Food Photo(s) Friday!

See more photos here.

Does My Blog Look Good In This? YES!

The winners for the January installment of the DMBLGIT (a monthly photography contest for food bloggers) are in......

Fer Food won in two categories! We won 2nd place as overall winner and 2nd place for aesthetics!! We are thrilled! Check out our post that won here. Check out all of the winners here.

There was stiff competition and wonderful entries from food bloggers all over the globe. We are honored to be a part of this wonderful world of food bloggers!

Thanks to Annie of Bonappegeek for hosting and to all of the judges.

-Fer

Papa Beard's Cream Puffs

Have you had a Papa Beard's cream puff? These Japanese cream puffs are made to order. They have two regular flavors: Vanilla and Chocolate and also offer a "flavor of the day". I can be a purist when it comes to flavors so I liked the Vanilla the best.

The cream puffs are baked, not fried, and after being filled with the cream, are sprinkled with powdered sugar. They are not like a traditional French Cream Puff. The cream is much more dense and rich. These puffs are as my friend Evelyn said, "Yummy"!

It is recommended that you eat them in the first 24 hours and refrigerate if you don't eat them immediately. Give them a try and tell me what you think!

-Fer

Papa Beard's Cream Puffs
2130 Sawtelle Blvd. Suite #110
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 479-6665

p.s. Their website offers this small movie telling the history of the company.

Roasting Tomatoes

Recently, I read about a new way to roast tomatoes in Cooks Illustrated. I was curious to try their suggestions. The outcome was perfect.

Cooks suggests that only vine-ripened tomatoes be used. These tomatoes have the best texture and were most consistent in their testing.



The tomatoes are roasted on a cooling rack that sits on top of a foil wrapped baking sheet. The tomatoes are cut into half pieces and placed seed side down on the rack. The heat is then allowed to circle the underside of the tomatoes and the lift of the rack projects the tomato skins slightly higher towards the heat source. The outcome is a nice roasted skin. The article suggests that you roast onion and the garlic cloves at the same time as the tomatoes. This saves time than sauteing the items separately for a sauce.

Cooks suggests that you roast in a 465 degree oven at 45-50 minutes. I found it did take the full 50 minutes. I am going to try to roast peppers in this fashion and see how they do.

-Fer

Over The Weekend

After the freeze, there was alot of concern about how it would affect the availability of citrus. I am relieved to see all the citrus still at the market. Tangerines are in full swing along with grapefruit, lemons, limes and oranges.

I tried some new grapefruit varieties this week. My favorite grapefruit now is called a "Oroblanco". It is delicious and sweet. It showed me how I can't always judge a fruit by its skin. The thick green tone makes you think your bite will be bitter. It isn't at all. It is sweet.

Meyer Lemons are something I know little about. I hear about them all the time. I have always wondered what makes them so special and what is all the fuss! These lemons are in season now and all over the market. The Meyer Lemon has the same tang as a regular lemon but not the pucker. This lemon is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. The exterior color of the fruit is a darker more orange-yellow in color. The skin is thinner and softer than a conventional lemon. Due to the sweeter taste, Meyer Lemons are great to use in lemonade and dessert recipes.

I can eat Tangerines by the bagful. Recently, I have been experimenting with making it into juice.I find that Tangerine juice is smoother and less tart than an orange jucie. The downside is it takes so many tangerines to make a small glass of juice. Five or six pieces of fruit should do. -Fer

Food Photo Friday!

Tiny Kitchens

A small kitchen can be a tough place to cook. I have a small kitchen and am always trying new ways to maximize my kitchen. Here are some new ideas that I have in utilizing my small kitchen:

De-Clutter.
Do you use all of your small appliances? If not, give them away to someone that will use them. Keeping appliances that you will "someday use" is taking up too much space in your kitchen.

You may think you should use all of the counter for storage but I disagree. There needs to be a place for everything in your kitchen and that means off the counter! That way it will enable you to have the space to just start cooking.

Think of ways to maximize the storage you do have. That doesn't always mean a "storage device". I have found that storage devices or bought kitchen "organizers" sometimes take up more space than what you are trying to store.

Think Double Duty.
Buy dishes or containers that you can use for more than one use. I have suggested using tops made for glassware as food storage. That way the storage required is not more than storing glasses away in their cabinet. If I had food storage containers it would require an entire additional cabinet I simply do not have.

Store Ingredients in Their Own Packaging.
I have noticed lately that sugars and flours come in a self-closing, "Zip-Loc" style bags. Instead of placing these ingredients into their own canister and stored them on the counter, I can easily stack these ingredients on top of one another inside a cabinet. It takes up so little space compared to the traditional flour, sugar, coffee canisters. There may be some that disagree with me in terms of coffee storage. I realize that there is a concern for coffee not staying fresh in its store bought packaging. So, if you do choose to keep one canister for coffee instead of the traditional three, it will still save you space. I find I drink my coffee so fast I don't need to worry about keeping it fresh by storing it into a different container.

Spread Out.
On big cooking days, I use my dining table as additional counter space. I roll out dough and bring out appliances. It works great in allowing me to maximize my space and help me be more efficient in my cooking.

Use wall space. Go up the walls with shelving if it allows you more storage opportunity.

Get a pot rack or put up open shelving to store the items you need regular access. No need digging into that bottom drawer looking for your measuring cup. Place it where it can be seen and can be used.

Placing a microwave or additional appliances on a cart works wonders in allowing more access to the tools you need. If you have deep drawers store your utensils in stacked trays. One on top of another. Use the depth of the drawer to maximize your storage potential.

There are many ideas that can help us all work better in our small kitchens. But it starts with first figuring out for yourself how you want to use your kitchen. When you figure that out, it will allow you to organize and store things appropriately. I think most of us just store things where they fit and not really think about how the area is used. Give it some thought and make yourself a plan. You might surprise yourself in how happy you can be in your tiny kitchen.

-Fer