3 Food Events You Should Know About: KCET's 'Uncorked'; 'Kings of Pastry' airs on PBS; berry picking at Underwood Family Farms

This post has been corrected. See the note below for details.

KCET at Bouchon: KCET's "Uncorked" and acclaimed chef Thomas Keller team up for a fundraising event to support KCET programming. Sixty guests will sit down to a six-course dinner (Keller will join each table of 10 for one course); there will also be a tour of Bouchon and a live auction. 5:30 p.m., June 13. Tickets are $2,500 per person. For more information call (323) 953-5357, or visit www.KCET.org/tickets.

For the record, 5:04 p.m. June 8: An earlier version of this post said that tickets for the June 13 Uncorked event are $250 per person. An event starting at 7 p.m. on June 12 is $250 per person, featuring Bouchon bistro dishes, wine from Jorian Hill, a Bouchon tour, cooking demos and a silent auction.

Pastry competition: "Kings of Pastry" is a documentary from filmmaking team Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker that depicts the intensity of the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, the most prestigious pastry competition, through the eyes of three competitors. The film will air at 10 p.m. on June 21 on PBS as part of its "Point of View" series.

Let's get picking: Underwood Family Farms is offering berry picking at its Somis and Moorpark locations, complete with tractor rides. Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries and even olallieberries are available -- olallieberries for just the next two weeks. Prices range from $1.99 to $3.75 per pound depending on the berry. For more information, visit www.underwoodfamilyfarms.com. 

ALSO: 

The Project: Budino di cioccolato (chocolate-caramel pudding) 

Father's Day dining guide 2011

The Taste food and wine festival is coming

-- Leah Rodrigues 

Photo credit: David Karp/Los Angeles Times

The Sweet Tooth: Paso Almonds brittle

What is it? Paso Almonds brittle. Perfectly crunchy, addictive almond brittle that's chock full of roasted almonds -- there are more almonds than brittle. It tastes super-fresh, isn't too sweet and doesn't stick to your teeth. 

Who makes it? Almond grower and candy maker Rusty Hall started selling his brittle at San Luis Obispo's Thursday night farmers market in 1992. It's been a hit ever since (and Hall now also sells Sweet Hots, which are bits of brittle tossed with chipotle and salt; brittle corn, made with popcorn and lots of butter; and gluten-free biscotti and blondies -- also with lots of almonds). The brittle is made in small batches at his commercial kitchen in San Luis Obispo. The almonds are roasted as the caramel for the brittle cooks and just as they come out of the oven, in a feat of proper timing, are added to the brittle. Because there are more almonds by weight than brittle, "it keeps it from getting too hard and gives it that really nutty taste to it," Hall says.  

Where to get it? Beverly Glen Pharmacy, 2946 N. Beverly Glen Circle, Los Angeles, (310) 475-0568; Joan's on Third, 8350 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, (323) 655-2285, www.joansonthird.com; Lancer Automotive (sold as Motorman Munchies), 8151 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, (323) 653-1100, www.lancerautomotive.com; Sweetsalt Food Shop, 10218 1/2 Riverside Drive, Toluca Lake, (818) 509-7790, www.sweetsaltfoodshop.com. And by mail order; for more info, go to www.pasoalmonds.com.  

ALSO: 

Photo of the Day: Ranger Cookies

Father's Day Dining Guide

Emergency preparedness -- what will you eat and drink? 

-- Betty Hallock

Photo credit: Paso Almonds

$15 is the new $25 -- when it comes to wine

There are signs the American economy is improving, at least as far as wine shops are concerned.

But if you think that means a return to the glory days of $150 cult Cabernets … well, not so fast. It wasn't all that long ago that we said $25 was the new $40 in terms of wine buying. Well now, $15 to $20 might be the new $25. Read more about the favorable consumer trend in this week's Food section cover story:

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The Review: Craig's on Melrose in West Hollywood

Photo: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Gross! Widespread meat contamination detected

 
Sorry to ruin your appetite this morning, but we'd be remiss if we did not bring Friday's breaking news to your attention. Will this news change your eating habits? Are you ready to go vegetarian? Do you already have a source for meat that is outside the mainstream chain? (If so, please share.)

Let's hear your thoughts on Friday's news:

Meat in the U.S. may be widely contaminated with strains of drug-resistant bacteria, researchers reported Friday.

Nearly half of all meat and poultry sampled in a new study contained drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus, the type of bacteria that most commonly causes staph infections. Such infections can take many forms, from a minor rash to pneumonia or sepsis. But the findings are less about direct threats to humans than they are about the risks of using antibiotics in agriculture. Read more -- if you can stomach it -- over at our Health blog:

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Artisan L.A. versus Artisanal L.A.

Who you callin' chevalier?

Molto Mario, less Susan Lucci

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

Photo: Brendan Smialowski / Bloomberg

Lindy & Grundy opening update

You may have heard earlier Thursday that Lindy & Grundy, the sustainable butcher shop that is generating Mozza-size anticipation, is opening Friday. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Erika Nakamura and Amelia Posada have a few more hoops to jump through before they can start slinging beef cheeks.

"We're still excited and kinda tired, but it does give us a couple of extra days to pull ourselves together," Nakamura said. "A while back Amelia and I made a commitment to ourselves to not get too upset over the things we have no control over. It's about a concrete ramp that needs to be extended. ... I have a very good feeling that it'll be Tuesday, but I don't want to jump the gun."

-- Krista Simmons

twitter.com/kristasimmons

Photo: Erika Nakamura and Amelia Posada in their West Hollywood home. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

The butcher in your living room

And for the latest in home entertainment –- butchery! No, seriously, there’s something artistic about the way a good butcher works, and Cole Ward, whose new “The Gourmet Butcher … From Farm to Table” has just been released, is certainly a very good butcher.

It works on a number of levels. First, of course, is the sheer pleasure of watching a craftsman operate. Ward’s cuts are smooth, clean and sure. For those who are interested in taking culinary do-it-yourself to the next level, this could even act as a how-to. Ward is a terrific teacher.

But this set is educational even if you never intend to take a meat saw into your kitchen. Cuts of meat in the grocery store are presented as badly shuffled pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, with little or no attempt made to clue you in to what the original big picture looked like. That’s important information for a cook, though, and Ward lays it out admirably for pork, beef and lamb.

With pork, for example, he starts with a half a pig, breaking it down first into primal parts and then into cooking cuts. It turns first into the front leg, back leg and center section. The center section is broken into the ribs, tenderloin and belly, which are then subdivided into cuts such as baby backs, pork belly and center-cut pork chops.

Suddenly, the whole jigsaw makes sense: Even why the Boston butt comes from the front shoulder while the picnic shoulder comes lower down.

“The Gourmet Butcher,” a two-DVD set, is available from www.thegourmetbutcher.com for $29.95.

--Russ Parsons

A sweet citrus tease

Is this the most delicious citrus fruit you've never tasted? Find out Thursday when David Karp writes about his 12-year love affair with the mysterious and elusive Dekopon. And keep an eye out at a store near you.

(Photo by David Karp)

A new nuoc mam: Red Boat 'first press extra virgin' fish sauce

In a Vietnamese fish sauce market dominated by low-priced blends, will a new artisanal nuoc mam (the magical brine of salted anchovies) win shelf space in your kitchen?

Red Boat "first press extra virgin" fish sauce is made on the island of Phu Quoc (known as a fish-sauce-producing region) and not mixed with added water, wheat protein or fish sauce from other parts of Vietnam or Thailand, owner Cuong Pham says. Its only ingredients are ca com -- black anchovies native to the waters around Phu Quoc -- and salt. "I wanted an authentic sauce that we used to enjoy when we were kids from my uncle's fish sauce factory" on the island, Pham says. 

According to Pham, Red Boat is made from a 200-year-old process in which fresh anchovies are salted within minutes of leaving the ocean water then aged for more than a year in wooden barrels. It comes in two versions, labeled 40°N and 35°N. Degrees on fish sauce labels indicate levels of fish protein content, and traditionally, the higher the degree, the higher the price. 

Red Boat is a rich reddish amber color, salty and more intense than many brands (we tasted several in the Test Kitchen). Use accordingly.  

Pham expects the fish sauce to be available for purchase on its website, www.redboatfishsauce.com, within a few days. $10 for a 500ml bottle of 40°N, and $8 for 700ml of 35°N. 

-- Betty Hallock

Photo credit: Betty Hallock

3 food events you should know about: coffee meets art at 'Hecho a Mano'; 'Swine & Wine' dinner at Corkbar; pick-up farm boxes in Long Beach

 

Coffee and art: Coffee lovers with a passion for an artisanally-produced cuppa won't want to miss the opening celebration of "Hecho a Mano" ("Made by Hand"), a collaborative multimedia exhibition co-curated by the nonprofit Los Angeles Art Assn. and the Guatemalan Coffee Board. With a photo series showing artisans at work on small coffee growing fincas, the presentation draws parallels between the hands-on techniques involved in small-scale premium coffee production and the care that artists take to produce their creations. Admission is free. The opening is Saturday,  7 to 9 p.m. at the Los Angeles Art Assn.'s gallery. The exhibit continues through Feb. 11. 

825 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles; www.laaa.org.

'Swine & Wine': Downtown wine bar Corkbar teams with bacon maker Cast Iron Gourmet on Wednesday, Feb. 2, for a bacon dinner dubbed "Swine & Wine." Corkbar executive chef Albert Aviles and Cast Iron Gourmet chef-owner Rashida Purifoy will collaborate on the three-course menu: frisée salad with roasted tomato, shallot and lardons; banh mi slider with cured pork belly, hoisin glaze and sambal aioli on a brioche bun; and a bacon chocolate cupcake with caramel whipped cream and lardons. $25; optional wine pairing is an additional $13. 5 to 10 p.m. Reservations required. 

403 W. 12th St., Los Angeles; (213) 746-0050; www.corkbar.com. See also Corkbar on Twitter, @corkbar. 

Long Beach farm boxes: Farmer-based nonprofit Long Beach Local offers a farm box program in conjunction with Beachgreens, which will deliver locally and organically grown produce direct from the farmer to a drop-off point at the Bella Cosa shop (located at 3803 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach). Pick-up day is Wednesday, from 4 to 6 p.m. The next pick-up opportunity will be Wednesday, Jan. 19 (payments must be be made by Monday, Jan. 17). Payment for pick-ups starting in February are due Jan. 31. Farm boxes come with seven types of vegetables, two herbs and two to three types of fruit. Only the freshest in-season produce will be harvested and packed for you. $30 per week (can be ordered weekly, biweekly or monthly). Recipes posted each week at www.longbeachlocal.org in the recipe section. 

To sign up, e-mail sashakanno@mac.com or call (562) 230-7207.

-- Linda Burum and Betty Hallock

Photo: the patio at Corkbar. Credit: Jay Clendenin/The Los Angeles Times.

 

Food writer Harris Salat launches online shop Everyday Japanese

Still looking for holiday gifts for cooks? I found a few at food writer Harris Salat's new online shop Everyday Japanese. Salat, who is co-author of "Japanese Hot Pots" and the forthcoming "Japanese Grill," curates a Web store of cookware, kitchen tools and ingredients such as freshly pressed soy sauce, farmhouse-style miso, smoked sea salt and other hand-picked, high-quality basics.

"All of it is stuff I cook with myself," says Salat, who is hoping to add products such as hatcho miso, made of only soybeans and aged in cedar casks.

I was intrigued by the "for kani [crab]" scissors (pictured above) with serrated jaws to crack hard shells and blades that cut softer shells (one of the blades is long and thin enough to be used to excavate meat from inside the claw). Just in time for Dungeness crab season.

"I like to think some guy was eating crab and said to himself,'I'm going to make a better crab scissor," Salat says. 

There are also handmade copper graters, dimpled pots (the dimples create more surface area for conducting heat) with convenient spouts for pouring liquids, and reasonably priced knives.  

Through Dec. 31, shipping for orders over $60 is free, and there's a holiday discount code for 10% off: HOLIDAY10. 

-- Betty Hallock

RELATED:

-- 3 food events you should know about

-- Video: Making Dungeness crab spring rolls with endive and almonds

-- Child nutrition bill will mean more produce for lunch 

Photo: Everyday Japanese