Food Blog Forum Los Angeles

Hi, my name is Jenny and I'm not a food blogger. Sometimes I am a food blogger stalker or an event planner or a traveler. To say that I am a food blogger is a gross exaggeration of reality [on account of the fact that I can't really cook].  But I desperately want to be one. 

Here is my shortlist reasons why I want to be a food blogger:

1.) The People:  First and foremost, these people are just so awesome and amazing.  I have met so many wonderful people. There is no online community who is more supportive than this one.

2.) Good Food: I don't exaggerate when I say that any time you go to a food blogger event, the food is going to be awesome.  

3.) Learning: My goal is to learn new things constantly.  I've learned so much from others as well as on my own through this blog. 

4.) Opportunity: Not to get into detail, but I've never had so many various opportunities as when first I started this blog.  New challenges, new possibilities. 

5.) Community: I know this points back to the People section but really, this needs to be addressed again. People like Jaden & Scott and Diane & Todd who are some of the busiest people I know, develop the Food Blog Forum to help share, GIVE AWAY FOR FREE, their knowledge and insight in developing a successful blog. I spoke with Diane just before this seminar and her words really stuck with me, "We just want to give back and help those who are just starting out." WHO DOES THAT??  These guys do.  

Food Blog Forum, Los Angeles

I almost started to cry when I first found out the date. I had 2 other commitments for that day but attending this was very important to me. 

There were so many favorite topics but to highlight just a few key points [because there are far more eloquent writers out there than I]:

"Find your passion...what is it that you want??" - Scott Hair, former Tony Robbins trainer,  paraphrased. He gave step by step instructions on finding your passion and how to achieve them.  What a dynamic speaker and with a gift to motivate. Jaden doesn't realize this but I plan to be camp out at her home some day.  Poor lady.

"Light, freshness of food, visual delectability, and sense of place are all components of what makes a successful food photo." Matt A & Adam P, totally paraphrased.  They spoke about building your plate for the camera, not necessarily to eat - use foods that are undercooked or overcooked depending on what the item is.  Build and layer to give your food depth.

"Assess your environment; decide the mood, feel, story of your photos; choose your gear, equipment and props." Diane C & Todd P, copied off their slide.  They gave the ever important tips on equipment, scouting out the best lighting for your shot, directional lighting, and the composition of light.  Todd even sat down in a squat to show us how to be a human tripod! 

Todd, Human Tripod

"Write for humans. Pick 2 - 5 keywords before you start to write. Don't use keywords more than twice." Gary N, almost verbatim because I didn't understand a word he was saying.  Ok, that's not totally true but I don't know much about SEO beyond what I read on wikipedia.  I learned things that I had no idea about - permalinks, Social Media Connect, Meta descriptions.

"Content + Authenticity + Passion + Diversity = Magic Formula" Jaden H, i think i wrote this right.  One thing I know about Jaden is she's an ideas person.  She can pop off more ideas in a 30 second period than anyone I know.  I dare you to go head to head with her.  You'll lose.  She gave us insight on what a "Platform" was [how many touch points to end customers]; how to have achieve income diversity [recipe development, photography, cooking classes, ghost writing]; monetize your website [giving tips on ad income]; and how to participate in community [Foodblogforum, twitter, Foodbuzz, blogHer, etc]. Just a few other gems from Jaden:

• "Nothing exists without community."
• "Find a rockstar in an unrelated industry and apply it to food."
• "Give your knowledge away - that's how people will remember you."
• "I'm a little strange and I like it." 

I was supposed to leave early but once I arrived, I was so transfixed that I just couldn't. Thanks to all the people I had the blessings to meet and see again:

@lafujimama - Rachael

@whatsgabycookin - Gaby

@ihcuppycakes - Clara

@foodwoolf - Brooke

@delorganic - Carrie

@dishingdelights - Esi

@privatekitchen - Sara

@whiteonrice - Diane

@riceonwhite - Todd

@steamykitchen - Jaden

@mattbites - Matt

@adampearson - Adam

Thanks for not running away when I threw my arms around you in my bear hug. You'll just have to be quicker next time.

Cornflake Chicken: Mommy & Me Series

Growing up as a Japanese American in a large Japanese community, there were a lot of opportunities for various potlucks - church, community centers, sport teams, Japanese school, dance group, and on and on. The unspoken rule was that each family should bring enough food to feed their own family.  Each potluck brought a vast array of home made foods causing the tables to groan with the weight.  Imagine plate after plate of sushi, teriyaki, beef/asparagus rolls, salads, somen salad, and desserts galore and there you have the quintessential Japanese Potluck.  My mom used to complain that my eyes were bigger than my stomach - I wanted to try everything.  I used to embarrass her with my 6" high plates that I couldn't possibly finish [and it was SO un-Japanese to indulge in such gluttony]. 

My mom had several dishes she used to rotate to these various events.  One of my favorite things that she used to make was something she called "cornflake chicken".  Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside.  She was a full time working mom with 3 kids, so she had to make what was quick and easy.

This is a 2 part dish: the sauce and the chicken.  The sauce is really easy to make and it's the basic recipe for teriyaki - shoyu, mirin, sake, and sugar. Bring this to a boil until the sauce is reduced and thickened.  I try not to drink this up because that's kinda gross - even if it does taste really, really good. Make this first so that you're ready to dip the chicken after it is deep fried!  

Cut the the wings into 3 sections using kitchen shears [throwing away the tip of the wing - my mom actually yelled at me when I told her this because she said I should have made chicken stock with it.  Oops]. The chicken wings/drummettes are coated in flour,  shaking off any excess; then dipped in the beaten eggs; and finally, coated with the crushed up cornflakes.  The easiest thing to do is the put the cornflakes in a ziplock bag and crush the heck out of it so it's in smaller pieces.  Once you coat the wings/drummettes in flour and dunk it into the eggs throw 3 or 4 wings/drummettes into the ziploc bag and shake it around [you guys remember "shake & bake"??? exactly like that!!]

Your wings should look like this above. I used my wok to deep fry the chicken until cooked through.  Drain on a paper towel, then dip into the sauce.   

Sauce: 

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup sake

1/4 cup mirin

Bring all ingredients to a boil until thickened and reduced.

Chicken:

Chicken wings, cut up into 3 pieces, do not use wing tips

Flour

Eggs, beaten

Cornflakes, crushed in a ziploc bag

Oil for deep frying

Coat chicken pieces in flour. Shake off excess.

Dip into beaten eggs.

Toss pieces in the cornflake bag and shake, shake, shake!!

Deep fry in oil until chicken is cooked through.  

Drain on paper towel.

Dip into sauce.

Place on a bed of lettuce for decorative effect.  Use remaining sauce to cover the chicken.

Mac Attack in Los Angeles : Sweet Tartelette's Southern Invasion...

Macarons, the most amazing delicate cookie I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. It's been a source of great joy...and the greatest frustration.  I even took a group class, thinking, "ok, i got this..."  I got home and thought, "oh fuuuuuudge...i don't got this..."

What did I do wrong?? Over and over and over and over and over again [that WAS 5 times, right??], I tried my hand at the macaron.  Surely it couldn't be THAT difficult right? Who's ever been totally beaten by a baked good? Well, it turns out that *I* have been beaten by a baked good. Darn it! I refused to be beaten by a baked good.

So alongside Rachael [La Fuji Mama] and Gaby [What's Gaby Cooking] we hatched the scheme to bring the Tartelette out to Los Angeles to learn us some Macaron making.  The first few days of Helen's stay was marred with her having a totally insane hostess [I think she may have crapped her pants a few times while I was driving. What? I couldn't pile my poor driving skills on to my poor hostessing skills - I've got some very, very small amount of pride, you know]. 

Something akin to a bag of moths fluttered around in my stomach [or too much alcohol if I'd been drinking] as we prepped for class - a combination of excitement and absolute dread.  I mentally slapped myself, told myself to suck it up and pull myself together.  I was ready to face the world...well, at least these stupid hellish macarons.

Each step of the way, I looked to Helen like I was a first grader, looking for approval at every dotted "i" and crossed "t".  She eyeballs my batter and instructs with absolute confidence, "Five more turns".  I do what I think is 5 turns but could've been 15 since I couldn't remember where the starting point was.  By this point, the voices in my head starts singing, "yeah...uh huh...I'm bad. I know it..." all accompanied with a little head bobbing.

After piping out something that I hoped would suddenly round out from its oblong shape, I let my macs rest.  After 30 minutes rest time, during which Helene instructed us on various methods, ganaches, etc, she asked for some "test" trays to put into the oven.  II nonchalantly handed her mine.  It didn't dawn on me that anything could possibly go wrong until she looked over at me and said, "Brave."

That's when the pants crapping started.  Rachael and I were the "test" Macs.  I looked at her and she said, "One of ours is not going to come out, you do realize that, don't you?" I looked at her without batting an eye said, "Don't worry. It's going to be mine."

Rachael's photo from "A Weekend with Tartelette"

You know by now that my Macs were the ONLY one in the WHOLE class that didn't come out.  [See the photo above? The pretty ones were Rachael's...you can see mine in the background.] I would've cried but for the fact that I don't believe in crying in the kitchen and  quite frankly, I wasn't really surprised. Karma seems to be torturing me in the form of the MACARON.  

So I determined that I would practice, practice, practice everything that I learned in Helen's class [over 2 day period]. I used it as my mantra.  My big test came in the form of my high school get together on Saturday.  They insisted that I bring the Macarons.

So with sweaty hands, pounding heart I began the process.  Encouragement from my twitterfriends came and gave me confidence.  And you know what??? I succeeded. YES!!!

A little skirting but this is such progress that I'm excited to try it again soon! Thanks, Helene!

Mac Attack, Southern Invasion aka "How Not to Host the Tartelette"

Boy and Girls, Ladies and Gentlemen: Let this be a step by step tutorial for you on how NOT to host the Tartelette.

It all started when I went to pick her up from the airport - clutching my camera in one hand and my [work] crackberry in the other.  As I waited for Helen to arrive into the baggage claim area, I was neurotically checking my crackberry.  Somehow, that wiley cat managed to slip right by me.  Funny how that happens when one isn't paying attention.  After playing phone tag for a few minutes I finally found her and my opportunity to take a photo of her as she walked in tanked.

Sierra, world's cutest puppy

We were blessed to be invited to Todd and Diane's from White on Rice Couple's home for dinner but it was still 1:00pm and we were starving. So we get into the car and head down to Hermosa Beach to check out the beautiful Pacific Ocean.  I hoped to find some great, clever dining option but the first place I found was Hennessey's.  If you know ANYTHING about Hennessey's you'll know it's an Irish Pub...you know...the kind where they serve really greasy Quesadillas?  That's where I took the Tartelette.  I mean...the Macaron Celeb. One of FORBE'S magazine's Eight of the Very Best Food Bloggers.  Uh huh.  I took THE Tartelette there.

Oh but WAIT.  My First Class treatment doesn't end there!!  The next day we headed off to Matt and Adam's studio.  Did I stop for coffee or breakfast? No, of course not.  Why ruin the beginning of a really bad track record with some hospitality?  After we were wowed by Matt and Adam's awesome prop room [Geez, I'm still hoping that nothing accidentally fell into my very large purse] we decided to check out Hollywood.

I had been promising Helen some Korean Hot Pot and all kinds of ethnic foods for weeks.  So naturally, that really had to take precedence into our meal plans.  So on our way to Hollywood, I took her to Umami Burger.  You know...the place where they serve BURGERS??  I find out that Helen hadn't had a burger in 15 years [probably with GOOD reason] but she's so freaking gracious that she said that she really enjoyed it. I would've smacked me into next week, if I were her.

That evening was our tweet up at The Yard.  Chef CJ [the tallest man in the world] came by with a delicious bite of burrata cheese, snap peas, and puree.  Great happy hour and great happy hour nibblies!  Thanks to Erika, Kate, Giselle, Patti, Sonja, Kathy, and Remil for attending!

We were so busy chit chatting with everyone that we realized that we hadn't really eaten dinner.  Inspiration struck - I decided that Helen, Gaby, Sonja, Remil, and I were heading to the taco truck, El Paladar Oaxaqueño, our first ethnic meal of the trip.  Lengua [tongue], Cabeza [head/cheek meet] were our choice for tacos.

Classes went well the following day [with the exception of MY macs but that's a whole other story] but after class, we were starving.  Unfortunately, it was 11:30pm and nothing  in the area was open.  NOTHING except for The Kettle, a 24 hour join in Manhattan Beach...the place where I spent many college late night meals.  I hated it when I was in college and I re-discovered that I still hated it. 

So, in case you missed it, let's have a replay:

1. Helen had to run around the airport looking for me.

2. I promised ethnic foods.  I take her to greasy bar food, a burger joint, or just plain nothing at all.
3. I took her to a taco truck for ethnic food.
4. I didn't give Helen a chance to eat any breakfast on any day.
5. I took her to a dive - a place that i didn't care for, even back in college, for a late night dinner.

But wait, it doesn't end there...to top off the entire week, I dropped her off at the wrong terminal [it was a code share flight] causing her to MISS HER FLIGHT.

Please take a look at the above steps and understand what you should never do when inviting Helen to your city.  Did I mention how gracious Helen was throughout the entire week?  Her schedule is booking up quickly so I suggest you get her in to your city as quickly as possible. But please...don't be a boneheaded hostess like I was. Oh...and if I invite YOU to Los Angeles, you may want to think twice about it.

Stay tuned for Part II of the Tartelette's Class...

Hinamatsuri [Japanese Girl's Day]: Traditions, Clothes, and Mochi

I love the cherry blossom season. We get it a little early in Los Angeles and since my parents are the only ones on the block who HAS a Sakura tree it's not quite the same as what you'd see in DC or Japan.  I still love how beautiful and delicate our tree looks! More than just simple beauty, it also gives me the leaves for my sakura mochi.

 

Why are you people tormenting me in this get up??

I don't know how many years my mom set up my Ohinasama display [the dolls you see in the background] and dressed me in a Kimono for Girl's Day, but the one thing I do remember is the Sakura Mochi. My mom used to make sakura mochi once a year for Girl's Day. That meant I had to stuff my chubby little face with as much mochi as I could handle on that ONE SINGLE DAY. I actually wasn't chubby (despite appearances in these photos to the contrary) and had a dismally small appetite but on that one day every year...I was a total gamer. 

oh, wait...you're going to give me sakura mochi?? YESSSSSS!

Sometime after elementary school, my mom stopped making sakura mochi for me. Every year since then I've casually hinted in big, loud words, "MOM, MAKE ME SAKURA MOCHI...PLEASE" to no avail - hell, my birthday is literally within two weeks of Girl's Day and she still won't make it for me. 

This year I mentioned to my mom that I was going to make sakura mochi and  she exclaims, "I want to make it, too!!" My momma didn't raise no fool.  My mom wants to make some, then I'm going over to her house to learn how to make it from the one who gave me my first taste! 

My mom offered to prepare the rice for the mochi so I offered to make the Anko.  My mom laughed out loud and I quickly realized the folly of my words. I looked over at my mom and said, "Geez.  That may have been a bad idea, huh?" She said, "well, I guess we'll see..." [As you can see, my mom has total confidence in my mad skills]. I would've made the white kind, which actually goes better with sakura mochi but I didn't have those kinds of beans.

My family is from the Okayama area of Japan...we're country people. As such, we really don't care for the pounded smooth, pretty mochi from the Tokyo area - I prefer the craggly rough rice textured mochi from the Kansai area, which just so happens to be the easier kind to make.

Tsubushi An Recipe:
1 cup Azuki Beans [available at Health Food Stores or Asian Markets]
1 cup sugar
3 cups water
Pinch Salt

Directions: 
Wash beans in cold water.  Bring beans to a boil  in a saucepan [faster if you cover with a lid] then drain water.  Add 3 cups of water and bring beans to a simmer over medium heat and cook until soft, stirring every so often [again, covering pot with a lid].  If the water evaporates before the beans are soft, add just a LITTLE bit of water [most of the liquid should be evaporated by the time its fully cooked]. Once it's cooked, add sugar, stirring the mixture, breaking up the beans so that most of the beans have been ground/mashed.

Mochi Recipe:
3 cups of Sweet Rice
Red food coloring
6 tablespoons sugar
pinch salt
salted preserved cherry leaves [pickle YOUNG leaves in salty water...my mom only had mature leaves, which are WAY too tough to eat]

Wash rice very thoroughly until clear.  Soak rice in water, dropping a few drops of red food coloring until the rice looks pink. Let sit for 4 hours. You can either steam the rice until cooked or cook it with ample water in a rice cooker. [this photo would've been a lot sharper but for the fact that my mom's a total spaz & doesn't understand that "photos" are not "moving pictures".]

Add 6 tablespoons sugar and pinch salt to rice and mix thoroughly crushing the rice as you mix.  [Again, "stop" does not mean anything to my mom.  She tell me that she's too busy to slow down.  Uhhh...heelllloooo...YOU'RE RETIRED.]

My mom taught me to use plastic cling wrap to lay about 2 Tablespoons of rice on, flattening out so that it's an oval shape so that the rice doesn't stick to my hands.  

Place about 2 teaspoons of tsubushi an in the center.

Fold the rice in half sealing the ends together.  

wrap with leaf and enjoy!