Thai Food; Trappist Cheese; Champagne; Ice Cream; Effortless Menues

Hosted by
Jet Tila is a cooking teacher and private chef. His family owns Bangkok Market in Hollywood. Jet spoke about Nad Pob Thai Cafe at 4321 West Sunset Boulevard (at Fountain) in Hollywood. Recommended dishes include:
Shrimp Salad called "Cooked Shrimp" on the menu
Stewed Pork Leg, called "German Pork Leg" on menu
Pork shank stewed in soy sauce, then smoked and deep fried
Grilled Pork Ball on stick with sweet chile sauce
Jet Tila will be cooking at Evan's Thursday Night Dinner on October 21st. Call 323-936-9086 for details and reservations or go to www.AngeliCaffe.com


Nigel Slater is the author of the memoir Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger, published by Harper Collins.


Norbert Wabnig is the owner of the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills (310-278-2855) at 419 North Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills. The Cheese Store carries a number of Trappist cheeses. Call the store to find out about special tastings.


Sang Yoon is the owner of Father's Office beer bar (310-393-2337) at 1018 Montana Avenue in Santa Monica.


Ecreamery.com allows you to create your own ice cream or gelato flavors.


EffortlessGourmet.com is a meal planning website developed by Carol Cotner Thompson, cooking teacher at the New School of Cooking. The site is free for the month of October.

Lemon Broccoli
Serves 4

  • 2 lb broccoli, trimmed and cut into 3-inch pieces lengthwise
  • 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced lengthwise
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
Blanch and shock* broccoli. Arrange on a serving plate. Heat a saute pan for 30 seconds. Add olive oil, then garlic. When the garlic starts to sizzle, turn the heat off. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pour over broccoli. Serve.

*Note: To blanch and shock, cook broccoli in a large pot of boiling, salted water until tender (about 3 minutes). Remove and immerse in a bowl of ice water.


Roasted Chicken with Bread Salad
Serves 4

  • One 3-lb chicken
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary
  • 1 Tablespoon orange zest
  • 1 clove garlic, smashed
  • 4 cup cubed, crusty bread (This dish is especially nice with olive bread, but any Italian style crusty bread is good.)
  • 1/2 cup currants
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse and dry chicken including the cavity. Stuff with diced onion, rosemary, zest and garlic. Place the chicken in a roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for one hour or until the thigh meat reaches 160 degrees. Remove onion mixture from the cavity and put in a large bowl. Toss in bread and currants. Serve with roast chicken.


Sweet Potato Caramel Custard
Makes four 6-oz or six 4-oz servings
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 oz butter
  • 1 large sweet potato, baked soft, cooled and peeled, or 1 cup canned yams
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 cups half-and-half
  • 1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp allspice
  • 1/8 tsp salt
Melt butter in a saucepan. Add brown sugar, stirring constantly. Cook to a boil. Cool. Pour into a mixing bowl. Add yam and mash well into sugar mixture. Add remaining ingredients. Mix until smooth. Pour into buttered or sprayed individual, ovenproof baking dishes. Bake in Bain Marie* at 350 for 45 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 4 hrs. The custards can be made one day in advance.

* Note: To make the simplest oven Bain Marie, place a dish towel in an ovenproof baking dish. Place filled custards on towel. Carefully pour about one inch of hot water around the custards being careful not to splash water into the custards.


Pear Salad
Serves 4

  • 2 pears, thinly sliced
  • 3 oz crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
  • 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
  • 2 cups baby greens
Vinegarette
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 2 Tablespoon raspberry or red wine vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • Pinch of salt
Combine salad ingredients. Toss vinaigrette with salad.


Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Thyme Sauce
Serves 4
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 4 shallots, peeled and quartered
  • 1 large or 2 small pork tenderloins
  • 2 granny smith apples, peeled, cut into eighths
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1 cup chicken stock
Toss apples and shallots with sugar, salt, thyme and oil. Season pork with salt and pepper. Sear pork on all sides in an ovenproof saute pan. Add apples and shallots to pan and roast at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 155 degrees. Remove pork and apples from pan and set aside. Stir flour into roasting pan and cook for one minute. Add stock. Simmer until desired sauce consistency. Serve with apples and pork.


Rosemary Roasted Carrots
Serves 4
  • 2 lb carrots, peeled and cut into one inch pieces
  • 1 tsp finely minced rosemary
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
On a sheet pan, toss carrots with rosemary, oil, salt, sugar and pepper. Roast at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. The carrots can be roasted the same time as the pork.


Fresh Ginger Date Cake
Makes one 9-inch cake

Cake:

  • 2 Tablespoon fresh ginger
  • 3/4 cup molasses
  • 1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup peanut oil
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
Cream:
  • 2 cups whipping cream
  • 1 tsp orange zest
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 by 3 inch round cake pan with a circle of parchment paper and butter well. Peel, slice and chop the ginger very fine or use a grater. Mix together the molasses, dates, sugar and oil. In another bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan, stir in the baking soda, and mix the hot water into the molasses mixture. Stir in the ginger. Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the batter. Add the eggs and continue mixing until everything is thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about one hour, until the top of the cake springs back lightly when pressed or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool the cake for at least 30 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Remove the cake from the pan and peel off the parchment paper. Whip the cream, orange zest and sugar until it holds soft peaks. Serve with cake.