Wurstkuche: Those Delish Exotic Sausages and Beers

When Wurstküche opened in the downtown arts district, it created quite a buzz. Not only do they offer gourmet and exotic sausages, they also boast 20+ beers on tap (mostly German and Belgian)! So when I had to pick a place to hang out with my friends, I thought this is the perfect chance to try it.

It was 8PM Saturday night and we were greeted with a line out the door. It looked like a small regular hot dog stand in the front, well-lit and cramped. We placed our order and headed to the back room and -voila!- a PUB! Complete with the loud talking, music, and beers on tap lining the wall. Waiting for a table on a Saturday night can take a while, but lucky me I was late and a couple of my friends have grabbed a table :P

After a while, our food came. We had ordered the Sun Dried Tomato & Mozzarella (smoked chicken and turkey):
Topped it sweet peppers and sauerkraut - I've never had peppers on my sausages/hot dogs before and apparently I've been missing out. Delicious! Loved the extra flavor that the sundried tomatoes added - this is in the running for my favorite of the night.

We also got the Apricot (also chicken), which are smaller sausages but each order had two pieces.
These were also very good, the apricots gave it a slight crunchy texture and a tangy flavor.

We also got the Rabbit, Veal & Pork sausage. All of the ones we got tonight were all pretty light. This was quite tender and the meat had a very nice flavor. These sausages were moist, the juices were nicely sealed inside.

Overall, great food, and just perfect with beer. May be a bit pricey for "hot dogs". It's kind of loud, or you could say "lively pub atmosphere" plus they have a great beer selection.

I was later told that the Rattlesnake and Duck were actually the best ones. I didn't get them this time since they had Jalapenos and was afraid it would be spicy. But I will definitely come back and try them next time around! (Hey, if it is spicy I can just chase it down with a beer, right?)


Wurstküche
800 E 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 687-4444

Great Food in Nowhere-Land

Chef Nadav Bashan was an executive chef at Michael's for three years before moving over to work under Cimarusti at Providence. Not so long ago he finally opened his own restaurant, Bashan, in Glendale/Montrose area. Although Glendale might sound close to Pasadena, this restaurant is actually pretty out of the way ...

Bashan sits on a quiet street, with not much around it. In fact, at dinner time, as far as I could tell it was the only thing open.

From the outside it looks like a cozy, charming cottage, but as you step inside it is actually decorated in a pretty hip/modern and sophisticated style. Such a contrast (see picture).



They only had 1 waitress working and at 6.30 pm only had three tables filled with customers.

We placed our order and were served these watermelon amuse bouches.

I've heard great things about their Crispy Veal Sweetbreads so of course I had to get them for my appetizer!
Mmmazing. Crispy skin, smooth silky sweetbreads on the inside. The sundried tomato was a great complement to it all.

Also got some Scallops with beets:
The scallops were nice, big and juicy. I would've liked a little more beets though! After we had run out of beets, the scallops were getting boring to eat by themselves.

For my entree I got Maple Leaf Farm Duck Breast
Let's see. I love duck. I love figs. This dish was great. The duck was particularly tender and flavorful, you can say gamey, even. It was cooked perfectly and also paired very well with the broccolini and the figs.

My companion got the Scottish King Salmon, which was perhaps one of the best salmon dish we've had, as you can probably see why from the photo.
Nicely cooked and still raw in the middle. Tender tender, juicy piece of salmon!

They had a special dessert that night which was this peach napoleon:
It was a pretty light and small dessert, but refreshing even though subtle.

We also got theChocolate Bread Pudding, since I feel like I need to have chocolate.
Decadent would describe this well. Richer, denser, and more chocolatey than any other bread pudding I've had. Very rich and chocolatey, I don't know if I would even call this bread pudding ... more like a chocolate cake. But it was quite good and satisfied my chocolate craving for sure.

I really liked this restaurant. I wish it isn't so out of the way for me, as I would like to come back more frequently.

Bashan Restaurant
3459 N. Verdugo Road
Glendale, CA 91208
(818)541.1532
www.bashanrestaurant.com

Osso Buco with Risotto Milanese

I finally made osso buco with the veal shanks I bought from Pike Place two months ago. Luckily, the shanks weren't freezer burned *whew* because they weren't cheap and were pretty difficult to find too. My local grocery stores didn't carry shanks thick enough to even tie a piece of twine around. What the heck are you suppose to do with a shank that's barely a 1/2 inch thick? I called around and found that Don and Joe's Meats in Pike Place carries appropriately-thick veal shanks, at $12.90/lb for frozen ones (slightly more for freshly butchered). At nearly $10 a serving, I would normally skip making a dish like this or use a cheaper alternative like lamb shanks but proper osso buco was on The List so I splurged and bought two whole servings! Cuz yeah, I'm such a high roller. I followed Marcella Hazan's recipes for both the osso buco and the traditional accompaniment risotto milanese (saffron risotto). The full recipe called for 6 - 8 shanks and when I thought about it, if you were making 8 servings of osso buco, the contents in the Dutch oven would be close to $100. *faints* Thankfully, both the osso buco and risotto turned out delicious. Worth the cost? Yes, but it's definitely not something I would make regularly.

Osso buco literally translates to "bone hole" and was most likely named after the marrow. This luscious meat butter is the highlight of this dish. You could use a marrow spoon (though I don't know of anyone who actually owns marrow spoons) or a butter knife to scoop it out or you can just shamelessly suck that baby out. Mmm mm! The surrounding veal was soft and tender, meaty but not beefy. I know some people have ethical objections to veal but there are sources for humanely-raised veal or feel free to use beef or lamb shanks.

This was also my first time cooking with saffron and honestly, I'm a little disappointed. Was I suppose to have a culinary epiphany where from the moment that risotto hit my tongue, I would understand why it's the world's most expensive and prized spice. I mean people pick the stamens by hand for crying out loud. What the heck is saffron suppose to taste like? I don't think I screwed up the risotto that badly because it was still the most delicious risotto I've ever made. I know my saffron (from Trader Joe's) isn't the best quality but I smelled it and it smelled... well, it smelled weird, nothing mind-blowing like the first time I smelled a real vanilla bean. As for the taste? How would you describe it? Because I haven't a clue. Could it be that I just didn't use enough? Some recipes called for just 3 or 4 threads but I used at least 6 to 10..

Hmm... I dunno. But anyway, onto the recipe.

Osso Buco
Adapted from Marcella Hazan (Below is the full recipe with minor changes, I scaled the recipe down to roughly 1/3 since I was only cooking 2 shanks)

6 - 8 veal shanks
Salt and pepper
Flour
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 Tbsp butter
1 C diced onion
2/3 C diced carrot
2/3 C diced celery
1 C dry white wine
2 strips lemon zest
1 C chicken stock
1 1/2 C tomatoes in juices
1/4 tsp dried thyme or 1 tsp fresh
2 bay leaves
3 - 4 parsley sprigs

Gremolada
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp finely minced garlic
1 Tbsp minced Italian parsley

Some notes from Marcella Hazan:
- Veal shanks are best no thicker than 1 1/2 inches, otherwise they will not cook evenly.
- Do not remove the white skin/membrane around shank, it adds flavor and creaminess to the dish
- Give yourself enough time to allow the osso buco to cook slowly and gently. It's not something you can rush.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Tie each shank tightly with a piece of twine to prevent them from falling apart during cooking.

Flour both sides of the veal shank and pat off the excess. Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sear the shanks on both sides until a brown crust forms, remove to a plate and set aside.

Turn down the heat to medium and add 4 tablespoons of butter to the Dutch oven. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook until the vegetables have softened. Add the wine and cook until it no longer smells alcoholic. Nestle the shanks back into the
vegetables. Add the lemon zest, chicken stock, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf, and parsley. Bring the contents to a simmer, cover, and transfer to the oven.

Let it cook in the oven for about 2 - 3 hours or until the shanks are fork tender. Baste the shanks by spooning the cooking liquid over them every 20 - 30 minutes. If the pot is getting too dry, add a few tablespoons of water.

Optional step (it wasn't in the cookbook but this is what I did): After the shanks are done, carefully remove them from the pot and set aside on a plate. Puree the contents in the pot (the veggies and braising liquid) in a blender/food processor/immersion blender for a more uniform sauce.

Serve the osso buco over risotto milanese or polenta. Carefully snip the twine around the shank and spoon the sauce over it. Top with a spoonful of the gremolada (which I skipped in the picture).


Risotto Milanese
Adapted from Marcella Hazan

1 Tbsp olive oil (I used bacon fat)
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 medium onion, finely diced
1 C Arborio or Carnaroli rice
A small pinch of saffron threads (I used about 6 - 10?)
1/4 C hot water
1/4 C dry white wine
2 - 3 C chicken stock
1 Tbsp cold butter
1/3 C grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Note:
- Do not rinse the rice, the starches on the outside of the grains is what makes the risotto creamy.
- The chicken stock must be hot when you add it to the rice, so keep it in a saucepan on low heat on the stove while you're cooking.
- Add the saffron threads to the hot water and let it infuse.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened. Add the rice and cook until the rice is coated with fat and starts to turn translucent around the edges.

Lower the heat to medium low, add the wine and cook while stirring until
the wine has been absorbed.

Add one cup of the chicken stock, keeping it at a simmer, and cook uncovered while stirring constantly until almost all of the liquid as absorbed. After this point add the chicken stock about 1/3 cup at a time. Keep it at a low simmer, and cook the rice while stirring constantly.

About 15 minutes in, after the chicken stock has been absorbed, add the saffron
water (threads too) and continue to cook and stir. If you start running low on
chicken stock, go ahead and use hot water.

Continue adding ladlefuls of broth, waiting until each addition has been almost absorbed before adding the next, cook while constantly stirring until the rice has is al dente, fully cooked but still retains a chew in the center.

Take off heat and stir in a tablespoon of cold butter and grated Parmigiano.