Labor Day, 2010

Bit of a flashback, I know. Might as well get used to it, as I'm one for reminiscing.

This particular Labor Day, like a few others, was spent at our dear friends the Angottis, some of the most pleasantly hospitable people you could hope to meet. Their love of good food, refined music, and excellent company makes their house a source of all kinds of good memories.

Here are some samples of what we tasted that day.

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My contribution was the grilled nectarines with balsamic-honey glaze. A dollop of slightly honeyed sour cream on top completed the dessert. If you're around my place, I might make them for you, if properly persuaded.

Stan's Donuts: an introduction

In the heart of Westwood (by Los Angeles), across the street from the Mann and Fox theaters where so many movies have had their premiers, is a tiny donut shop. Its proprietor, Stan Berman, has been there, witnessing the happenings and changes of Westwood, since he opened it in 1965. He's the prototypical small business operator: friendly, aware of his neighborhood, old-fashioned, modest. He's a lot of fun as a person, and with more interesting stories than there'll ever be time for him to tell you.

It also happens that his donuts are absurdly good. Forbes declared them America's best in 2001, Huell Howser visited twice to feature him on California Gold, and any time you see a show about donuts on either a travel or food network, Stan will get a mention. Just a sampling; I could go on. In fact, I will, at some point, but this is just an introduction to a fascinating individual I'd like you to meet, and his products, which you'd do yourself a disservice by not meeting. I'm not the only one to think so: Stan can always tell if a show he was featured in got played, because the next day he gets orders from all over the country to overnight ship dozens of donuts. He seems amused at this, because without marking up more than FedEx's cost, this means the recipient will be paying about $6 for each day-old donut! Now, I like Stan's day-olds more than a lot of place's fresh donuts, but that's entirely crazy. Besides, if you have a maple bar, glazed buttermilk, or any of his other creations a mere few minutes after they were made, you'll understand what donuts are supposed to taste like.

I know you think I'm exaggerating. That's because you haven't visited Stan's yet.

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Picture Post Test: Chinese Visitors

This first photo-based blog post features a barbecue at a friend's house. Some business associates from China were visiting, with family in tow, and he invited some of his friends to share in a lovely and relaxed evening. The method of showing the pictures is as new to me as the method shown of grilling eggplant, so it seems like a good match.

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Two of the pictures include a big sheet of bread with stuff on it. They are two versions of a grilled lavash appetizer I've made for years. It's very, very popular. In spite of my best efforts, they call it "the thing John makes." It's by no means the only thing I make, and not even my only signature item. Still, the name appears to have stuck.

The eggplants were first gently grilled until their purple had turned to brown, then split lengthwise and generously covered with garlic, olive oil, and chopped serrano. Finally, a careful dusting of a fiery powdered Chinese red pepper went on. Very, very nice.

We had a couple of desserts in the mix, and my contribution was pears poached in Marsala and spices, topped with a creamy Gorgonzola, and served with Port.

A lovely evening, and no mistake.