50 Shades of Food: A perfectly penetrated yolk

Pull up a chair and settle in for our 50 Shades of Food series, where we introduce you to mouthwatering, shiver-inducing, hot, sexy food porn. It's safe-for-work browsing, sure to get your heart racing and your palms a little sweaty, and the only drawback is a possible hunger pang or two after viewing.

This week we pay homage to the egg. The Pinoy Panda, also known as @limer35 on Twitter, shared this week's #foodporn photo of the duck hash from Playa restaurant in Los Angeles from a recent Sunday brunch. Pinoy Panda was able to capture just the right moment when you gently pierce the flesh of the egg with a knife and watch the luscious yolk spill from the center.

"Check out that perfect 63° egg," wrote Pinoy Panda on Twitter.

We not only checked it out, we did a double take.

If you'd like to get in on the food porn action, upload photos of your food to any of our food galleries --  What did you eat this weekend?; Our recipes, your kitchen; or Cheers! What are you drinking? -- and we'll be on the lookout for photos that make our eyes pop. You can also share photos with us on our Facebook page or on Twitter. Be sure to include your name, a description of the photo and any personal blog or Twitter handle you'd like us to give a shout-out to.

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-- Jenn Harris

Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/Jenn_Harris_

Photo: Duck egg hash. Credit: Pinoy Panda

50 shades of food: Silky, smooth burrata

Pull up a chair and settle in for our 50 Shades of Food series, where we introduce you to mouthwatering, shiver-inducing, hot, sexy food porn. It's safe-for-work browsing, sure to get your heart racing and your palms a little sweaty, and the only drawback is a possible hunger pang or two after viewing.

In today's  photo, we celebrate silky, smooth, creamy burrata cheese. Daisy of the blog Daisy's World provided a shot of her burrata with pesto and roasted tomatoes on the vine. The tomatoes look just blistered, the pesto a vibrant green and the cheese a perfect, supple pillow of bliss. The bread in the photo is just barely visible, but one can easily fantasize about how this trio of love would taste spread on a toasty piece of baguette.

Daisy was inspired by the burrata and roasted tomatoes dish at Bottega Louie in downtown L.A.

"It's such a great combination of flavors and a little different from the usual tomato, mozzarella and basil combination," said Daisy.

If you'd like to get in on the food porn action, upload photos of your food to any of our food galleries --  What did you eat this weekend?; Our recipes, your kitchen; or Cheers! What are you drinking? -- and we'll be on the lookout for photos that make our eyes pop. You can also share photos with us on our Facebook page or on Twitter. Be sure to include your name, a description of the photo and any personal blog or Twitter handle you'd like us to give a shout-out to.

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50 Shades of Food: A boozy berry shortcake

50 shades of food: Warm, gooey jalapeño cheese bread

Live chat: Lunchtime with Jonathan Gold!

-- Jenn Harris

twitter.com/Jenn_Harris_

Photo: Burrata with roasted tomatoes and pesto. Credit: Daisy of Daisy's World.

50 Shades of Food: A boozy berry shortcake

Pull up a chair and settle in for our 50 Shades of Food series, where we introduce you to mouthwatering, shiver-inducing, hot, sexy food porn. It's safe-for-work browsing, sure to get your heart racing and your palms a little sweaty, and the only drawback is a possible hunger pang or two after viewing.

"You never forget your first, right?" asks pastry chef Meghan McGarry, who loves to flirt with dessert on her blog Buttercream Blondie. She's of course referring to a recipe makeover; her first being a strawberry shortcake that landed her a job as a pastry chef in Boston.

Meghan's take on the classic includes a brown sugar pecan cake filled with white chocolate mousse. "Add local strawberries that have been getting cozy with Grand Marnier, and the final dish is both fun and comforting," she wrote.

If you'd like to get in on the food porn action, upload photos of your food to any of our food galleries --  What did you eat this weekend?; Our recipes, your kitchen; or Cheers! What are you drinking? -- and we'll be on the lookout for photos that make our eyes pop. You can also share photos with us on our Facebook page or on Twitter. Be sure to include your name, a description of the photo and any personal blog or Twitter handle you'd like us to give a shout-out to.

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-- Jenn Harris

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Photo: White chocolate strawberry shortcake. Credit: Buttercream Blondie.

50 shades of food: Warm, gooey jalapeño cheese bread

Pull up a chair and settle in for our 50 Shades of Food series, where we introduce you to mouth-watering, shiver-inducing, hot, sexy food porn. It's safe-for-work browsing, sure to get your heart racing and your palms a little sweaty, and the only drawback is a possible hunger pang or two after viewing.

This week we picked a photo that celebrates our love for fresh baked bread and cheese. Shulie Madnick of the blog Food Wanderings shared a picture and recipe for jalapeño cheese bread. A fresh, hot loaf of any kind of bread is, in itself, something to swoon over. Add swirls of gooey cheese and hot jalapeños and it's enough to make you squeal with delight.

"As you can see, I commit the same crime over and over again and slice the bread while it is still warm," said Madnick on her blog. "I need to be put on probation, but admit it, doesn't the gooey melting cheese look so scrumptious?"

Oh, yes, Shulie, we're head over heels.

If you'd like to get in on the food porn action, upload photos of your food to any of our food galleries --  What did you eat this weekend?; Our recipes, your kitchen; or Cheers! What are you drinking? -- and we'll be on the lookout for photos that make our eyes pop. You can also share photos with us on our Facebook page or on Twitter. Be sure to include your name, a description of the photo and any personal blog or Twitter handle you'd like us to give a shout-out to.

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-- Jenn Harris

twitter.com/jenn_harris

Photo: Jalapeño cheese bread. Credit: Shulie Madnick

50 Shades of Food: Sunday brunch fantasy double feature

Pull up a chair and settle in for our 50 Shades of Food series, where we introduce you to mouth-watering, shiver-inducing, hot, sexy food porn. It's safe for work browsing, sure to get your heart racing and your palms a little sweaty, and the only drawback is a possible hunger pang or two after viewing.

This week's installment is a Sunday brunch fantasy double feature courtesy of @djjewelz. On the left, the sausage McBelly from BeerBelly LA in Koreatown, and on the right, the Slim Jim Bloody Mary, made with soju, also from BeerBelly.

"The Sausage McBelly is made with chef Wes Lieberher's homemade bratwurst," wrote @djjewelz. Eat your heart out, McMuffins. That glistening bratwurst sausage patty and fried egg on an English muffin has us weak in the knees, and who wouldn't swoon over an ice cold Bloody Mary?

If you'd like to get in on the food porn action, upload photos of your food to any of our food galleries --  What did you eat this weekend?, Our recipes, your kitchen or our Cheers! What are you drinking? -- and we'll be on the lookout for photos that make our eyes pop. You can also share photos with us on our Facebook page or on Twitter. Be sure to include your name, a description of the photo and any personal blog or Twitter handle you'd like us to give a shout-out to.

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-- Jenn Harris

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50 Shades of Food: Serious burger lovin'

Welcome to our 50 Shades of Food series where we introduce you to mouth-watering, shiver-inducing, hot, sexy food porn. It's safe for work browsing, sure to get your heart racing and your palms a little sweaty, and the only drawback is a possible hunger pang or two after viewing.

For this week's installment, we're giving you an up-close and personal shot of what Greg MacIntosh, author of the blog Life's a Picnic, calls the French onion burger, inspired by the flavors of French onion soup. This bad boy is topped with Gruyere cheese, slow cooked onions and a tomato and garlic confit. Wowza.

The burger actually comes with a true love story. When MacIntosh and his wife first dated, they went to a small French bistro and had French onion soup. The couple learned to make the soup at home to keep the memory alive.

"The restaurant has long since closed, but we still make the soup," said MacIntosh. "With the French onion burger I brought the best part of the soup (cheese and onions) to top the burger."

If you'd like to get in on the food porn action, upload photos of your food to any of our food galleries --  What did you eat this weekend?, Our recipes, your kitchen or our Cheers! What are you drinking? -- and we'll be on the lookout for photos that make our eyes pop. You can also share photos with us on our Facebook page or on Twitter. Be sure to include your name, a description of the photo and any personal blog or Twitter handle you'd like us to give a shout-out to.

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-- Jenn Harris

twitter.com/jenn_harris

Photo: French onion burger. Credit: Greg MacIntosh of Life's a Picnic.

50 Shades of Food: The ultimate cupcake

 

Welcome to our new 50 Shades of Food series where we introduce you to mouth-watering, shiver-inducing, hot, sexy food porn. It's safe for work browsing, sure to get your heart racing and your palms a little sweaty, and the only drawback is a possible hunger pang or two after viewing.

For our first installment, here's a photo of chocolate cheesecake cupcakes drizzled with caramel uploaded by L.A. Times user Beer Vee. They're enough to make you want to kiss your computer screen. The cupcakes look dark and decadent and you can almost taste the gooey, sticky caramel.

To get in on the action, simply upload photos of your food to any of our food galleries --  What did you eat this weekend?, Our recipes, your kitchen or our Cheers! What are you drinking? -- and we'll be on the lookout for photos that make our eyes pop. You can also share photos with us on our Facebook page or on Twitter. Be sure to include your name, a description of the photo and if you have a personal blog or Twitter handle you'd like us to give a shout-out to.

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-- Jenn Harris

twitter.com/jenn_harris

Photo: Chocolate cheesecake cupcakes drizzled with caramel. Credit: beervee.

Photo of the Day: Sarah Simms of La Femme Epicure

 
If you try any of the recipes from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen, we'd like to see the results. Please share your photos with us so we can showcase them here on the Daily Dish and ocassionally in print. You can upload those photos here.

This image comes to us from Sarah Simms, who writes the food blog La Femme Epicure. She tried her hand at L.A. Times Food editor Russ Parsons' recipe for cornmeal pancakes.

She reports: "These pancakes are great with butter and jam or warm syrup. I served mine with tons of fresh strawberries on top ... I'm a sucker for fresh berries on pancakes." You can read the rest of her take here at her blog.

Thanks for sharing your photo with us, Sarah. And pass the syrup!

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--Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

Photo: Sarah Simms / La Femme Epicure

[UPDATED] Small Bites: Playboy Playmates at Pourtal; Flight Club at Rustic Canyon; four flavors at Checkers Downtown

Wine and women: File this under weird: Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar has teamed up with Playboy.com nightlife columnist Dan Dunn (fondly referred to as "the Imbiber") to present a navel, I mean novel, wine-tasting tour called "the Imbiber's Ultimate Playmate Fantasy Wine Tour." The tour (which feels more tacky than sexy to me, but who am I to judge? I have very little testosterone.) features eight wines picked because they prompted Dunn to dream of a particular Playmate when the glass touched his lips. A 2006 Plumpjack Cabernet Sauvignon? Marilyn Monroe, of course. Jenny McCarthy? Only a 2006 Maverick from Four Vines will do. The list goes on, but you get the idea. And maybe it is just good clean fun, but having been in the Playboy Mansion grotto at least twice in my life, I seriously doubt it. The program debuted Tuesday and lasts through the end of the month. Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar, 104 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica. (310) 393-7693. www.pourtal.com.    

Flight Club: The first rule of Flight Club is, well, stop making bad jokes about Flight Club. Sorry, I can't help it. Rustic Canyon Wine Bar & Seasonal Kitchen just launched a regular Monday night program called Flight Club. On offer: a flight of wines selected from various regions around the world paired with a dish created by chef Evan Funke to complement whatever region the wine hails from. This Monday's Flight Club (I just can't stop writing Flight Club. Flight Club. Argh.) featured Old versus  New World Chardonnay paired with apple risotto. Flight Club! Rustic Canyon Wine Bar & Seasonal Kitchen, 1119 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica. 5:30 to 10 p.m. Mondays. (310) 393-7050. www.rusticcanyonwinebar.com.

I've got four on it: The Checkers Hotel downtown is in the process of reinventing itself. It's going for a bit younger, a bit hipper, but still classy. (Funny, that's what I'm going for these days too.) Anyway, every Thursday night through November it's hosting a pairing event called "Four." Here's how it works: The kitchen whips up four special-recipe cocktails and four small plates that complement them, then you chose which pairings you'd like to sample. Try one or try them all. Cocktails go for $4 each and tapas for $4 to $6 each. Checkers Downtown, 535 S. Grand Ave., L.A. 4 to 8 p.m., Thursdays. (213) 624-0000. www.hiltoncheckers.com.

UPDATE: A previous version of this post said reservations are required for the Hilton Checkers pairing event called "Four." In fact, reservations are not required.

-- Jessica Gelt

Photo: Marilyn Monroe on the cover of Playboy. Credit: Chronicle Books

Scanwiches: The meaty truth behind the popular sandwich blog

Jon Chonko looks at sandwiches the way a dendrologist might look at tree rings. The density of the bread, the color of the meat . . . you never know what culinary and cultural riches a double-decker Reuben might hold. Then again, maybe he just likes them because of how neat they look.

When Chonko, 24, a designer at Manhattan ad firm thehappycorp global, launched his sandwich picture blog, Scanwiches, less than two months ago, he had a simple concept that he executed even more simply. The site's high-res, close-up scans of halved sandwiches floating against a black sea proved instantly appealing.

"It was going to be a quick little lunch blog to encourage me to eat at new places in the neighborhood, and try different types of sandwiches," Chonko says. "Then it got really popular, and I felt obligated to keep it up."