Guest Interview

French Country Cooking ()

Anne Willan, has run the legendary La Varenne, cooking school in France, is a leading authority on French cooking and its culinary history. Willan, who's just moved to Santa Monica, celebrates French culinary culture in her book, The Country Cooking of France.

La Chaudrée
Fish Chowder
Serves 4

The secrets of a good Chaudrée are described in La Cuisine du Poitou, a local cookbook originally published in 1932. "To any recipe, add a thread of lemon juice towards the end of cooking, another while eating. Serve in a deep dish, heated and as thick as possible. Before pouring in the chaudrée, garnish the bottom with little pieces of good fresh butter." Just follow this advice!

• 2 lbs/900 grams mixed fish fillets, without skin
• 1/2 cup/110 grams/4 ozs butter
• 4 onions (about 1 1/2 lbs/675 grams total), peeled and quartered  
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped  
• 2 whole cloves  
• 2 cups/500 milliliters/16 fluid ozs dry white wine  
• 3 cups/750 milliliters/1 1/4 pints water, more if needed  
• 1 small bunch of parsley (about 1 ounce/ 30 grams)  
• 1 large bouquet garni  
• Salt and pepper  
• Baked croûtes made with 1 baguette, sliced  
• 1 lemon     
• Large flameproof casserole or soup pot

Wash and dry the fish and cut it in 2-inch/5-centimeter chunks. Melt half the butter in the casserole and spread the quartered onions and garlic in the bottom, pressing the cloves into one of the onion pieces. Lay the fish on top, putting firmer fish in first, with more delicate ones on top. Pour in the white wine and add enough water to just cover the fish. Pull parsley stems from the sprigs, setting the sprigs aside. Tie the parsley stems with the bouquet garni, add it to the chowder with salt and pepper and bring to a boil over medium heat, skimming often. Lower the heat and simmer for 4 to 6 minutes or until the fish are just tender.

Transfer the fish with a draining spoon to a tray and set it aside. Increase the heat and boil the broth until well flavored and reduced by about half, 25 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile make the croûtes and keep them warm. Chop the reserved parsley sprigs, cut the lemon in half lengthwise, and divide one half into 4 wedges.

When the broth is ready, discard the bouquet garni and the cloves, leaving the quartered onions. Add the juice from the remaining half lemon, taste, and adjust seasoning. Return the fish to the pot and warm it briefly. Dice the remaining butter and put it in 4 warm soup bowls. Spoon in the chowder, sprinkle with the chopped parsley, and perch a wedge of lemon on the edge. Serve very hot, with the croûtes passed separately.

Recipe courtesy of Anne Willan's The Country Cooking of France.

Music break: Take it Easy my Brother Charles by Milton Banana Trio

Guest Interview

Belgian Beer ()

David Farnworth serves up Belgian beer at the 9th Annual Belgian Beer Festival at Lucky Baldwins Pub in Pasadena and Sierra Madre. The event features over 80 different Belgian beers and 61 beers rotating on tap. Belgian beer is drunk like wine and is served with its own unique glassware.

9th Annual Belgian Beer Festival
March 1-2
Lucky Baldwins Pub
17 S Raymond Ave
Pasadena, CA 91105
626-795-0652

Lucky Baldwins Delirium Cafe
21 Kersting Court
Sierra Madre, CA 91204
626-355-1140

If you miss out on the event, don't despair. Hurry over to the pub because they'll keep pouring these delicious Belgian brews until the tap runs dry! Music break: Tired by Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra

Guest Interview

Sin City Chocolate ()

Odds are that the first thing you think of when you think about Las Vegas is not the chocolate scene. Perhaps Lark Ellen Gould will change your mind! Evan discovered Gould through her a recent Los Angeles Times article, in which she wrote about her chocolate odyssey along the Strip. The travel writer guides us to several Sin City stops, where chocolate has been elevated to an art form..

Music break: Backfire by The Raymarks

Guest Interview

New Sparkling Wines ()

Du Vin Wine's Stacie Hunt decants the latest fizzy, sparkling wines.

Du Vin Wine & Spirits
540 N San Vicente Blvd (near Melrose)
West Hollywood, CA 90048
310-855-1161

Hunt recommends:

FRANCE
Sparkling Vouvray: The grape variety is Chenin Blanc, from the Loire Valley. This is a fruity, but dry finishing sparkling wine. Excellent with raw seafood and creamy sauces. $15-23.00

Veuve Ambal, Peche: A favorite for winter or summer. $18.99

Blanquette de Limoux: A secret sparkler from the Languedoc area of Southwestern France. Made from the Mauzac (a secondary aromatic grape and Chardonnay). This wine comes in Magnums only and what an amazing bargain! $31.95 (Magnum)

Bouillot de Bourgogne: Pinot Noir, from Burgundy, rose in color. $16.99

ITALY
Bella Vista: This is what graced the golden throat of Pavarotti. The ONLY Wine he drank. Made in the Franciacorta (Veneto) area of Italy in the manner of Method Champenoise, this is an elegant sparkling wine of Chardonnay and other local grape varieties. $36.99

Moscato d’Asti: Made from one of the Aromatic varieties, Moscato (Muscat). This low-alcohol, frizzante wine tastes of green apples and is thoroughly refreshing! $19.99

Brachetto d’Acqui: A sparkling wine made from the ONLY red aromatic grape, Brachetto. This wine tastes of wild raspberries and is perfect, even sexy, with bitter chocolate and fresh raspberries. $19.99

Prosecco: Made in the Veneto region of Italy of the Prosecco grape that was only born to be a sparkling wine. $12-14.00

Lambrusco: This is a bone dry sparkler that is the only wine to have on a picnic! Made by Fiorini, a very old house. $16.99

Sparkling Pinot Grigio: Kind of rare in the US, but this sparkler made by Canaletto is a real surprise. Imagine the fruity and spritely flavors of Pinot Grigio with a touch of fizz. Well, perfect, just perfect to toast the end of the day and enjoy a light meal of seafood. $12.99

SPAIN
Cava: Here the sparkling wine, produced mainly from local grape varieties, is called cava. They do taste different from Champagne and California bubblies, with a more pronounced earthy flavor. No wonder the world's best selling sparkling wine (Freixenet Cordon Negro) is a cava! They are the sparkling wine world's best values, with most brands selling for around. $8.00

AUSTRALIA
Sparkling Shiraz: This is a wine produced only in Australia and is only for those with the muscle to handle it! It’s bone dry, sparkles plenty and can actually handle a meal of grilled anything! One of the best is Majella, from Coonawaara. $29.99

Music break: Caravane by Pierre Adenot

Guest Interview

Northern Thai Cuisine ()

Jet Tila, our local authority on Thai food, recommends Spicy BBQ Restaurant, a iny, 15-seat, four-table restaurant that features 11 authentic northern Thai dishes. Tila recommends Northern Thai Egg Noodles, a curry-based soup with fresh turmeric and fat egg noodles. Also try the Larb, which is made with slices of liver, pig ear and ground pork. There are two dips: Naam Phrik Awng, with ground pork and roasted tomatoes and Naam Phrik Num, a roasted eggplant dip that's similar to smoky tomatillo salsa. These dips are served with cold vegetables like boiled cabbage. The Northern Thai Curry is a stew with pork belly, chicken and stew beef and tomatoes. Chef Jet offers cooking classes throughout Southern California.

Spicy BBQ Restaurant
5101 Santa Monica Blvd at Normandie
Los Angeles, CA 90029
323-663-4211