Road Trip to Bakersfield; Grant Achatz; Cassoulet

Guest Interview

Market Report ()

Chef DJ Olsen is always at the Santa Monica farmers market.  He's the chef at Lou, the wine bar on Vine (724 Vine St.).  He's using the huge variety of potatoes in many different dishes, including roasted, smashed and in a potato tart.  The recipe for his potato tart is here.

Juan Asavedo is one of the sellers of Zuckerman Farms asparagus.  They bring jumbo asparagus to over 20 markets in the LA-are.  Pictures of there stand are here.

Guest Interview

Grant Achatz ()

Grant Achatz is the award-winning chef of Alinea in Chicago.  He trained under noted chefs Thomas Keller and Ferran Adria.  His new book, Life on the Line, is an account of his career and his battle with tongue cancer.  Grant's new restaurant is to be called Next, for which he will sell tickets.  

Guest Interview

Cassoulet ()

Laurent Quenioux is the chef at Bistro LQ (8009 Beverly Blvd.) and Vertical Wine Bistro (70 North Raymond Ave., Pasadena) where he makes cassoulet every Sunday night.  His recipe for the French meat and beans dish is here.  He likes to pair cassoulet with Madiran and Cahors.  

Guest Interview

Fermentation Revolution ()

Sandor Katz is a self-described "fermentation fetishist." His book is Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods.  His website, Wild Fermentation, is an incredible resource for anyone interested in fermenting foods.  See his instructional video for fermenting vegetables here.  

Guest Interview

Road Trip to Bakersfield ()

Guest Interview

Making Kimchi at Home ()

Eddie Lin writes the blog Deep End Dining and he is a frequent contributor to Good Food.  This week he learns how to make kimchi from Chef E.J. Jeong of Cham Bistro.  Pictures of his experience are on his blog.  Watch how a Korean grandmother makes kimchi here. 

Guest Interview

Communal Tables ()

The Watts Towers were created by artist Sabato Rodia.  The Watts Towers Common Ground Initiative supports the towers as a cultural landmark.  They are honoring the towers and the initiative with a festival: The St. Joseph's Communal Tables on March 18-20.  "These tables both commemorate a time when diaspora Italians represented a community in need, and, as a springtime recurrence, they also celebrate abundance."  Luisa del Guidice is organizing the event.  More about the Catholic tradition of St. Joseph's tables here. 

You can view the altar at St. Lawrence of Brindisi Church (10122 Compton Ave., LA): Friday March 18, 3:00 P.M. – 7:30 pm, Saturday March 19, 10:00 A.M. – 5:00pm, Sunday March 20, 10:00 A.M. – 5:00 pm.