Chilling with the Coolidge Cocktail

How many actresses can say they have a drink named after them?

Jennifer Coolidge can.

We found that out after Culinary SOS received this request from Michael in Santa Barbara:

My friends from law school and I, in an unusual unanimous opinion, found the Coolidge to be the best cocktail of the summer. We know the ingredients, but we need expert testimony on the proportions and methodology used to prepare it.

Times Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter took on the challenge and found out that this cocktail was created by Hungry Cat bartender Danielle Motor for Coolidge and combines interesting ingredients such as chiles and rice wine vinegar. Here's your recipe for the Coolidge cocktail: Cheers!

And take a look at 46 additional SOS requests we've been able to answer here.

If you have a Culinary SOS request, send it to noelle.carter@latimes.com or Culinary SOS, Food, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. Include your name, phone number and city of residence.

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Photo: Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times

Culinary SOS needs your help: Do you have this recipe from Magpies in Pasadena?

Normally, you turn to Culinary SOS to ask us to hunt down your favorite restaurant recipes.

Now Culinary SOS is turning to you for help:

Mary Jo from Monrovia wrote to us asking for the recipe for the creme brulee that was served at Magpies restaurant in Pasadena before it closed its doors.

"I'm hoping you have this recipe in your archives. At one time they handed this recipe out at the restaurant, unfortunately they ran out of copies the day I was there."

We've searched our archives, and we can't find the recipe, Mary Jo. But we're betting that someone out there has it -- and would be willing to share it with you and other Daily Dish readers.

We'll keep you posted, and if we get the recipe we'll post it here.

In the meantime, here's a recipe for cinnamon tapioca brulee with cherry gastrique. (It's not exactly what you were looking for, but hopefully it will help until we can find the real thing.)

And here's a look at several reader requests that Culinary SOS was able to answer

Photo: Cinnamon tapioca brulee. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

Culinary SOS: Your recipe requests, answered

Is it any surprise that Culinary SOS is one of the Food section's most popular features?

You ask for a recipe, and we do our best to go get it. (Sometimes, chefs don't like to share their best dishes. But luckily, many chefs are flattered when we ask and happy to help.) Times test kitchen manager Noelle Carter then adapts the recipe for the home cook. Above are the ginger molasses cookies from Model Bakery in St. Helena.

You can write to Culinary SOS at food@latimes.com or contact Noelle directly at noelle.carter@latimes.com.

In the meantime, here's a look at SOS requests that we've answered recently: 

-- Rene Lynch

Photo: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

VIDEO: Making the spicy mac and cheese app served at the Purple Palm

 

The Purple Palm restaurant in the Colony Palms Hotel in Palm Springs offers up a Spicy Macaroni and Cheese appetizer, of all things. One of our readers loved it -- and asked Times test kitchen director Noelle Carter to get the recipe. Here it is. And be sure to check out the video, above, of Noelle making the dish.

This week's L.A. Times test kitchen recipes

All recipes that appear in the L.A. Times' weekly Food section are tested and perfected in our test kitchen before they're deemed fit to print. (That means you don't have to worry about a trial run before serving one of our recipes to company.) Rest assured, it should work the first time out of the gate.

Here's a look at this week's recipes:

Swordfish with tomatoes and fennel

Lentil salad with tomatoes, zucchini and arugula

The cucumber, pineapple juice and ginger aqua fresca served at Akasha in Culver City

-- Rene Lynch

Photo: Ricardo DeAratanha  / Los Angeles Times

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VIDEO: Sending out an S.O.S. for the brownies at Boudin Bakery at South Coast Plaza

 

There is a possibility that the L.A. Times will not publish tomorrow. That's because everyone in the building has been talking about these brownies, instead of working at putting out the paper. Well, maybe I am exaggerating just a bit. But I can't remember the last time a recipe caused such a stir. And it's not just inside the building -- the recipe has been topping the most e-mailed list all day, too. I'm sure a lot of that had to do with the show-stopping photo taken by Times Staff Photographer Kirk McKoy -- you can see it below in all its fudge-y, chocolate-y glory. 

The recipe came to our attention when Mindy Morse of Los Angeles wrote to Times Test Kitchen test manager Noelle Carter, and submitted a request for our Culinary S.O.S. column: "Could you possibly get the recipe for the brownies at Boudin Bakery at South Coast Plaza?" Morse wrote, adding: "They are the most delicious brownies I have ever tasted!" 

Noelle got the recipe, and adapted it for the home chef. You can also watch video, above, of Noelle making the brownies in the Test Kitchen during a segment for our sister TV station, KTLA. Here's the recipe, Mindy! Enjoy! 

And check out other recipe requests we've been able to answer, here.

Photo credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

More ways to wake up your cauliflower....

It's always great to hear when a recipe or technique inspires our readers. I've already received a number of e-mails about this week's Culinary SOS, featuring Ad Hoc's rice with roasted cauliflower. Readers loved the idea of roasting the cauliflower to enhance and broaden its depth of flavor.

I wanted to share one e-mail I received from Patrick in Los Angeles, who shared his own recipe for browning cauliflower in a skillet, which he then deglazes with a little mirin. Sounds wonderful!

"Hi Noelle: I enjoyed reading today’s SOS, 'Roasting Wakes Up Cauliflower.' I, too, was baffled about a year ago as to what to do at home with a fresh head of cauliflower. Steaming it just seemed too bland, and I wanted it as a side dish at the time. I didn’t think to roast it, but I did come up with a tasty and simpler way to 'wake it up.'

"I cut up the cauliflower and threw the crowns in a cast iron skillet, drizzled EV olive oil over them and sprinkled with salt and pepper. After letting the crowns brown on one side, I started stirring occasionally until they were browned throughout, but still slightly crunchy. Afterwards, I put about 1/4 cup or so of mirin cooking sake in the pan and covered it to let it “steam” in the wine. (I’ve used chardonnay as well.) Once most of the liquid cooked off, I uncovered the pan and turned the heat to high and further carmelized the crowns until browned to my liking. I have, on occasion, also put in green onions.

"The end result was great with rice and has been a staple as a side to meat and chicken in my kitchen as of late. I’ll try it with some curry powder next time! Thanks!"

Thanks so much Patrick, and to all those great ideas out there!  We love to hear from you, and will post what we can.

-- Noelle Carter

Photo: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

It's like pecan pie, but in cookie form....

Linda e-mailed me yesterday evening looking for a recipe from our archives:

"I was looking ... for a cookie recipe from Harris Ranch Restaurant, but did not locate it. Could you help me find the recipe for Pecan Thumb Print Cookies? Thank you, Linda"

We tracked down the recipe, which originally ran as a Culinary SOS on Jan. 11, 2006. We had written:

"Travelers driving between Southern California and the Bay Area on Interstate 5 have made these cookies a popular fixture at the Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant in Coalinga. Chewy in texture, they have a pecan pie flavor and taste like a buttery lace cookie, although they have no butter."

Enjoy, Linda!

The recipe follows the jump. And click here for more Culinary SOS recipes. If you have a favorite restaurant recipe you'd like to request, feel free to e-mail me at noelle.carter@latimes.com. I'll do my best to track down the recipe.

-- Noelle Carter

Photo credit: Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times

Sending out an SOS for Huckleberry's banana bread

 

Helen Chiu of Westchester normally heads straight for the flatbread when she goes to pastry chef Zoe Nathan's Huckleberry Cafe in Santa Monica. (Helen admits: "I am addicted.") Recently, though, she tried something different: The banana poppy seed bread. "I found it quite extraordinary. It's not too sweet." Helen wanted more, so she wrote to Culinary SOS for the recipe. Huckleberry graciously agreed to help out.

In all, Times Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter tested the recipe five times, first to scale down the proportions of the recipe for the home cook, and then to test for variables.

Here's a behind-the-scenes look at how it all worked:

The first crack at the recipe yielded more dough than required for one loaf. Noelle divided the batter into two loaf pans, just to see how it turned out. The results were OK, but there were some follow-up questions for the folks at Huckleberry. What size loaf pans does the bakery normally use? How did the baker slice the bananas for the top? Also, how much sugar went into the topping? (The original recipe didn't specify.)

The answers solved some of the mystery:

Culinary SOS: Sazerac cocktail

According to Viji Anton Shook of Rancho Palos Verdes, Stella! in New Orleans makes the most divine Sazerac with Cognac and Absinthe. So Viji wrote to Culinary SOS for help:

The drink is smooth with honey overtones making it a perfect elixir for a hot summer night. I would love to recreate a bit of New Orleans here in LA. Would you be able to get the recipe? Thank you.

Actually Viji, thank YOU. We love it when Times Test Kitchen Manager Noelle Carter has an excuse to test a cocktail recipe. Here's your recipe. Cheers!  

And here's a look at other recipe requests we've recently answered.

--Rene Lynch 

Photo credit: Ken Kwok / Los Angeles Times