The apéritif hour: Chopped chicken livers on toast

When I got hold of April Bloomfield’s new book “A Girl and Her Pig,” I zeroed right in on the Brit chef’s recipe for chopped chicken liver on toast. Just looking at the picture, I could tell this would be a definitive recipe. And it is. I expected no less from the chef and co-owner of the New York City gastropub Spotted Pig.

I made the recipe, which calls for 1/2 pound of chicken livers, which is just enough to spread on four toasts yesterday. And I have to confess, as soon as I was done snapping the photo, I gobbled up two of them with a glass of white Rioja. The flavors are so pure, with just a backbeat of sweetness from the port and a bit of nuttiness from the Madeira. I can see these toasts with a glass of Madeira, too. A great way to stave off hunger if dinner is a ways off.

I’ll let Bloomfield explain the recipe: “A staple at the Spotted Pig, this creamy, still slightly chunky mash of lovely, iron-y livers on toast makes a fine snack, but it’s substantial enough to hold you over while you wait for a friend or a table. Just the thing too, with a glass of wine. The liver mixture is a touch sweet from the Port and the browned garlic and shallots, with a whisper of acidity from the Madeira. Best of all, it takes just a moment to make. Be sure you get a nice color on the livers when you cook them. (I like them slightly pink on the inside for this dish). Be sure to take in the aroma as they cook -- toasty browning liver is one of my favorite smells.”

“I’m not much for pomp on the plate, for presentation that says, 'Look how pretty!' ... I like food to look as if the arrangement were almost accidental, as if it all dropped from above and happened to pile elegantly on the plate.”

That said, it’s hard to make chopped chicken liver look like a beauty queen. It is what it is -- earthy and primal. And Bloomfield’s version is one of the best I’ve tried, right up there with AOC’s Tuscan-style chicken liver crostini. You might want to try both side by side to see which your guests like best.

New York postcard: Di Palo's in Little Italy and now online

Whenever I’m in New York City — and downtown — my feet seem to head all by themselves to Grand Street and Di Palo's, the 87-year-old Italian deli (newly organized and expanded) where I stock up on Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano and bottarga from Sardinia.

Usually one of the family is behind the counter, either one or both brothers Lou and Salvatore, their sister Mariem, or Lou’s son Sam, now the fifth generation of the Italian family that immigrated from Basilicata in 1903. 

Buying cheese is a ritual here: You taste, you compare Parmigiano Reggiano of different ages and seasons. I bought the superb spring Parmigiano — far too little of it, I realized when I got home. I keep breaking off little chunks of it to have with a glass of wine just before dinner.

When I stopped by in early May the pecorino Romano was exceptional, milky and salty-sweet with just that edge of sharpness which makes the sheep’s milk cheese so distinctive. I bought a big piece. And then I bought another for a gift. 

How can I not see spaghetti cacio e pepe ("cheese and pepper") in my future? I’m a purist, though. No butter: just finely grated Pecorino and lots of cracked black pepper. See how to make it on the link below.

The big news, handed over casually as I was gathering up my package, is that DiPalo is now online at www.dipaloselects.com, which means I don't have to wait for my next trip to New York to buy more Pecorino Romano. It's listed at $12.99 a pound and I’ll have to pay for shipping. But still, that's about the cost of one plate of pasta in a restaurant. 

Di Palo's Fine Foods, 200 Grand Street (at Mott Street), New York, N.Y. (877) 253-1779; www.dipaloselects.com

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-- S. Irene Virbila

Twitter.com/sirenevirbila

 

Up on the roof, where the drinks — and Manhattan views — are fine

Heaven may be a little closer in New York these days, especially in Manhattan, where hotels' rooftop bars and restaurants are among the best places to enjoy summer. A few are restricted to guests, such as those at the Surrey, the Trump SoHo and the Thompson LES, but there are plenty of newer roof decks that are open for those who want their own little piece of the sky. Read more from Sherri Eisenberg's travelogue.

Photo: The floors are heated and the glass walls retract at Upstairs at the Kimberly, where you can dine off the  small-plates menu. Credit: Frank Oudman

 

Today's headlines: A journo tries cooking school, how to glow like Jen, S.F. vs. S.D. and more

Headlines from today's L.A. Times:

-- Inspired by "Julie & Julia," our Phil Zimmerman headed to cooking school -- at Philo Apple Farm Cooking School, 120 miles northwest of San Francisco in the bucolic Anderson Valley wine country.

-- So many wineries, so little time. The Golden State is home to nearly 3,000 wineries. So how to choose? Here's your guide to California wineries.

-- Every year, millions of people find themselves craving a vacation from Greater Los Angeles. Many of these people don't want to cross state lines or climb mountains or contend with deserts, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, redwoods, Gold Country or Mickey Mouse. Which leaves them facing this question: San Francisco or San Diego? Let the debate begin.

-- Want to have a red-carpet glow à la Jennifer Aniston? Eat your veggies.

-- At McSorley's Old Ale House in New York's East Village, established in 1854, Geoffrey Bartholomew plays both poet and bartender.

Photos: At left, San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge at dawn. Credit: Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times. At right, sunset over Coronado Bridge in San Diego. Credit: Micha Pawlitzki / Getty Images

Sampler Platter: Cherpumple, Slim-Fast recall, grocery shrink ray, chocolate Ritz

Your late-Friday-afternoon food news roundup, featuring the most insane cake/pie hybrid ever, reasons your waiter hates you and more:

-- The Cherpumple, the dessert version of the Turducken: a three-layer cake with a pie stuffed in each layer. Charles Phoenix
-- 20 secrets your waiter won't tell you + 30 more secrets = 50 reasons your waiter hates you. Reader's Digest
-- Tiger Sushi ready to open in former Luckyfish space; Santa Monica Bar & Grill to become Upper West. Eater LA
-- Eating with Kristen Schaal: oyster shooters, monkey brains and the tyranny of onions. Fork in the Road
-- Unilever recalls all Slim-Fast ready-to-drink products in cans because of possible contamination. FDA
-- Nine foods attacked by the grocery shrink ray. Live Cheap
-- Aqua Teen Hunger Force wants you to Have Yourself a Meaty Little Christmas.
-- Ritz now dips its crackers in fudge -- during the holidays.
-- Describe what Lender's Bagels mean to you to win $1,000 and a year's supply of bagels.
-- The world's most extravagant meals. Forbes

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Rob Takata / For The Times

Sampler Platter: 7-Eleven makes its own wine, MasterChef cooks endangered eel, 70 cases of brat pizza stolen

How will two-buck Chuck compete against 7-Eleven's new wines? How does someone steal 70 cases of pizza? How do you open a bottle of wine with nothing but willpower and your shoe? All this and more in today's food news roundup.

-- How to open a bottle of wine in France: For those times when you've been up all night, you're drunk and all you want to do is drink another bottle of wine, but you're in the street, you have no corkscrew and the stores aren't open yet. Happens all the time. YouTube
-- Speaking of which ... 7-Eleven's making its own wine. Oh, thank heavens. Dallas Observer
-- Hotel and nightclub impresario Sam Nazarian slams into ugly financial reality. Could this be part of the reason behind SBE's recent split with Brent Bolthouse? Wall Street Journal
-- Auntie Em's tops list for best cupcake shop; Sprinkles left out. LAist
-- A $47,000 lunch tab from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. Buzzfeed
-- In the ongoing Tavern on the Green saga, the venue hosted the Halloween party from hell, say booted patrons. New York Daily News
-- BBC's "MasterChef" cooks critically endangered eel. Oops. The Telegraph
-- It's cloudy with a chance of record-setting meatballs in New Hampshire. Yahoo! News
-- Tasting ecstasy and agony at Le Cordon Bleu in Ottawa. New York Times
-- 70 cases of brat pizzas stolen from Wisconsin company. Sheboygan Press
-- A preview of the apocalypse: Boston Markets will all run dry. Consumerist

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Meatball appetizers, distant cousins of the New Hampshire record setters, at the Crow Bar and Grill in Corona Del Mar. Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

Sampler Platter: bacon candle, food stamps, cheesecake and sugary cereals

Food stamps and fancy restaurants, bacon candles and racist cookies -- it's a tale of two worlds in today's food news roundup.

--Gwyneth Paltrow's L.A. restaurant picks: Church and State, Gjelina, Shima, Madeo, Cecconi’s, Tavern, Animal, Osteria La Buca, Yong Su San, the Best Fish Taco in Enseneda, La Estrella Taco Truck, Kogi, Varnish. Goop
--Several sites are giving away pairs of tickets to Great Chefs of L.A., a benefit that happens on Nov. 8 for the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California.
--Costco to accept food stamps nationally. L.A. Times
--Living close to food is good for your waistline. Salt Lake Tribune
--Troy Smith, founder of Sonic drive-in chain, dies. Baltimore Sun
--UN delivers food aid by text message to Iraqi refugees in Syria. The Telegraph
--Sugariest cereals for kids get advertised the most. Consumerist
--Offensive Creole Creme cookies removed from Australian stores. 9News
--Chef Rick Gresh of David Burke’s Primehouse in Chicago brings his edible bacon fat candle to NYC. Gothamist
--Cheesecake? C'mon, what are New Yorkers really eating? New York Times
--Moderate amounts of protein, rather than a lot, might be best for muscle. Booster Shots
--Former combat marine turned chef serves up meals for seniors as a way of giving back to community. New York Daily News

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Residents gather outside the Sonic Drive-In after a tornado destroyed parts of Newton, Miss. in 2002. Credit: Rogelio Solis / AP

Sampler Platter: A rave review from Oprah, insane recipes from the Futurist Cookbook and cow brain curry

The most insane cookbook you will ever read, news about Doughboys and cow brains top today's food news roundup.

-- L.A.-based vegan chef Tal Ronnen, author of "The Conscious Cook," makes an appearance on "Oprah" today -- and The O calls him the best vegan chef in America.
-- Welcome to the Futurist Cookbook, featuring battered and deep-fried roses, a chicken stuffed with ball bearings, salami cooked in espresso and then flavored with eau de Cologne. And then it gets weird. “I’m dazzled! Your genius frightens me!” The Smart Set
-- Recipe: butterscotch cashew bars. Why? Because they sound amazing. James Beard Foundation
-- Cow brain curry at Raso Minang in West Covina. Why? Because it sounds amazing. Gourmet Pigs
-- The 99-Cent Chef visits the cornucopia of carts in MacArthur Park.
-- Is your seafood hurting the planet? Greenspace
-- Want to keep up with the latest food recalls? Sign up for Safe Tables' e-alerts.
-- Irvine local Hai Vo wins Brower Youth Award for his efforts to get the UC system to commit to 20% real food procurement by 2020.
-- Per property owner Charlie Jacob, Doughboys is shooting for a Dec. 1 opening. Blackburn + Sweetzer
-- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wades into the bagel wars. New York Daily News
-- Just in time for Halloween: Witches' Fingers -- sugar cookies with raspberry jam for cuticles and sliced almonds for fingernails -- from the recently opened Village Bakery and Cafe in Atwater Village.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo credit: Sue Sawyer

Sampler Platter: The beef whisperer, L.A.'s best tearooms, milky science and weird bacon products

What do goat milk, Gwyneth Paltrow and bizarre bacon products have in common? They all make an appearance in today's roundup of totally inessential food news.

--Meet the beef whisperer. He can tell a cow's age, gender and breed from one bite of meat. The Independent
--Iconic Mel's Drive-In closes today in Seal Beach. OC Register
--Morning Edition anchor Chery Glaser's five favorite L.A. tearooms. KCRW
--What carbonation really tastes like: sour. Wired
--Twelve weird bacon products you won't believe. Delish
--Poring over facts about milk: cow's, goat's, soy, almond, rice and hemp. Los Angeles Times
--Please enjoy this sausage necklace. Pahl-Fleischer
--Litigious Monster Energy threatens actual movie monster. Consumerist
--Gwyneth Paltrow shows you how to make a light Spanish dinner of tortilla espanola, poached shrimp and bread with tomato sauce. Goop
--Sam Sifton on Daniel Boulud's DBGB Kitchen & Bar. (New York Times) In the meantime, Daniel Boulud Brasserie at the Wynn in Las Vegas will shutter. (Eating Las Vegas)
--OpenTable announces its 2009 Fit for Foodies winners. No surprises in terms of L.A. restaurants: The Bazaar, Osteria Mozza, Palate, Street.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Views of the Huntington Botanical Gardens are part of the charm of the very English tearoom. Credit: Boris Yaro / Los Angeles Times.

Sampler Platter: Esquire names Bazaar as Restaurant of the Year, McDonald's to open at the Louvre, Doughboys reveals new exterior

Fast food comes to France's fanciest museum; news on Doughboys and the Gold Room; and all sorts of food-crime news in today's food news roundup.

-- The Bazaar by José Andrés is named Restaurant of the Year by Esquire. Rivera makes the magazine's Best New Restaurants of 2009 list. And RH and West Side Tavern are included on Esquire's list of Another 15 Places Not to Miss. Eating Las Vegas
--McDonald's to open at the Louvre. Los Angeles Times
-- An E. Coli-laced hamburger patty that paralyzed a woman exposes flaws in the food safety system, especially ground beef production. New York Times
-- Doughboys reveals its new exterior. Blackburn + Sweetzer
-- Echo Park's Gold Room gets polished up. The Eastsider LA
-- More on the Capitol City sports bar, which we peeked into a few weeks ago. Los Angeles Times
-- New York City public schools limit bake sales. Gothamist
-- Insanity hot sauce fells British columnist. Times Online
-- Pasadena, Texas, woman eats ex-hubby's goldfish after a fight over jewelry. Houston Chronicle
-- Man gets 18 months in prison for hot dog theft. Telegram
-- Fourty-four tons of rotting kosher bison meat stink up South Dakota town. Yahoo! News
-- Curry festival spices up London. CNN

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Tobias Hatfield poses by his bison herd on his ranch outside Williams, Ore. Credit: Bob Pennell / Mail Tribune / Associated Press