The (lost) Art of Picnic-ing

We have a great time “Popping Up” in Corona Del Mar, thanks to all who attended!  It was great to receive such positive feedback during set-up and breakdown of our table.  Our dining experience was serene, relaxing and refreshing.  We look forward to summer and all it’s possibilities.

Photo credits:  Dave Luong-Si & Alice Young Ahn.

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2/23/13 “Bohemian Romance” at Viridian ~ Pictures


We had a wonderful time at Viridian in Costa Mesa!  Cheers to Lisa Kray for all her help and support.  We hope to have another event there soon!  Please visit www.viridianfinds.com, you will love it!

 

Wine, Appetizer & Cheese Plate greet you!
Wine, Appetizer & Cheese Plate greet you!Interior at ViridianInterior at Viridian

 

Pancetta and White Bean Soup topped with Kale Chips
Pancetta and White Bean Soup topped with Kale Chips
Janine & Lisa
Janine & Lisa
Herb Encrusted Rack of Lamb served with Polenta and a Demi Glaze Chanterelle Mushroom Sauce
Herb Encrusted Rack of Lamb served with Polenta and a Demi Glaze Chanterelle Mushroom Sauce
Homemade Strawberry Marshmallow with Dark Chocolate Mouse topped with White Chocolate Shavings
Homemade Strawberry Marshmallow with Dark Chocolate Mouse topped with White Chocolate Shavings

 

Lisa & Dawn
Lisa & Dawn

 

Interior at Viridian
Interior at Viridian

 

Loara, Gabi & Miss Daisey - Cheers!
Loara, Gabi & Miss Daisey – Cheers!

 

Momento's
Momento’s

 

Dining in the Art Gallery, interior at Viridian
Dining in the Art Gallery, interior at Viridian

 

Interior at Viridi

 

Interior at Viridian
Interior at Viridian

 

Tina & Ray
Tina & Ray

 

Interior at Viridian
Interior at Viridian

 

Browsing vintage furnishings, unique objects, estate jewelry, and original art.
Browsing vintage furnishings, unique objects, estate jewelry, and original art.

 

Viridian Pop-Up team!
Viridian Pop-Up team!
















 

Yummy

Thank you Whole Foods for offering up this beautiful organic Broccolini for tomorrow’s underground dinner party in Costa Mesa, CA.  Chef Kristen Trinh knows how to shop!  This bounty will be enjoyed thoroughly!

broccolini

The Making Of A Communal Table

We decided to host a communal pop-up diner party, yay!  But where can we get a table for 12?  Hmm, those beautiful farm tables are a bit pricey.  Fortunately, my talented husband and youngest son took it upon themselves built our table from raw Pinewood from Home Depot. They turned out solid and functional, but they needed a little character.

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A little research on Pinterest resulted in a simple DIY recipe for staining wood – one that would dry in just a few hours.  So on the very morning of our very first pop-up we stained the raw Pinewood with a concoction of steel wool, vinegar and coffee grounds (which we soaked together in even proportions for about 17 hours).    Once we applied the stain, we felt it needed a bit “more” so we grabbed that morning’s coffee grounds and rubbed them into the table, perfect!  While the table was drying a small rain shower made a brief visit leaving it’s own marks.  Results? Absolutely beautiful!

Joey's work of art.
Joey’s work of art.

 

Q & A with The Mad Platter Kitchen Chef, Kristen Trinh

Enjoy this Q & A with Kristen Trinh of The Mad Platter Kitchen.

Q. When did you realize you wanted to become a chef?

A. What inspired me to become a chef was my husband and I had a conversation one day about how much he appreciates my cooking and noticed how happy I am when I am cooking for him and our friends.  He lightly mentioned that I should try out culinary school. I honestly never thought about it before, but it made perfect sense to me and so I did.

Q. What is your earliest memory of cooking?

A.  I would say earliest memory of cooking was with my grandmother during holidays. We had family gatherings all the time and I would always help my grandmother in the kitchen. That’s what sparked my interest and passion for cooking.

Q. What is your favorite cuisine to cook?

A. My passion for cooking has led me to create delicious dishes from all regions all around the world, but my favorite food to cook is Southern Italian.

Q.You went to the Art Institute right?  Would you say that is where you obtained most of your skills?

A. In 2007 I went to Art Institute of Orange County where I studied the ‘Art of Cooking’ and graduated a year later.

Q. What roles did you play at Laguna Culinary Arts Cafe & School?

A. I started work at Laguna Culinary Arts in 2008 where I became a Fromage and worked in the kitchen for basic food prep. I slowly worked my way up to not only cooking in the kitchen but menu planning, food cost. managing the cafe, and instructing classes. From there I grew a strong interest to become a private chef and branch off to do catering and meal planning on my own which is where I am at today.

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A Letter From Aunt Betty

Hi Lisa,
I understand how you feel about not knowing your grandparents on our side. All of my grandparents were deceased before I was born and I have never found out anything about them.

I have more separate memories of Clarence and Ruby Castleberry than of them together..mostly because I was the youngest of a large brood.  We were mainly a dysfunctional family (way before the term was coined), but there were good times too.  I was a ‘momma’s girl’ and spent most of my time by her side.  She was a talented seamstress, and I can remember her making clothes for everyone. For many years she used an old Singer treadle machine, but in the early sixties bought a brand new electric zigzag Singer from Sears.  I can still picture the dresses and suits that she made to wear while selling Avon products.  I would ride in the back seat of our old De Soto and later in a Studebaker Lark VI with the smells of perfume and powder while she would drive her route all around Suquamish and the surrounding countryside.

Suquamish was what we called a 1 horse 2 tavern town that was smack dab in the middle of the Suquamish Indian Reservation. The location was idyllic..set right on Puget Sound with an astonishing view of Seattle and Mount Rainier. This was before smog had blurred everything.

We owned a double lot at the wide end of a triangle block with the two bedroom house overlooking the water just a block away. Every weekend us girls had to sit in the car parked in front of a tavern while mom and dad went in for a drink…we would stay in that car for hours on the promise of a candy bar until we got old enough to realize that our house was only a block away and so we would just walk home.

Dad really enjoyed playing the punch boards (precursor to scratch tickets) and would win toys, stuffed animales etc. for me all the time. He also spent uncounted hours combing the beach for unusual pieces of driftwood that he used to make a fence around our property. It was very unique and was featured in Sunset Magazine in the late 1950s or early 60s. Many times on weekend afternoons, he would let me help him sharpen lawn mower blades for people around town. He was very good with machines. He worked at the Alaska Steamship Company on the Seattle waterfront as a ship’s mechanic for over 20 years.  Grandma Ruby and us girls would ride the ferry to Seattle from Bainbridge Island every Friday just so we could ride home with Daddy. We usually managed to get in a few hours of shopping to boot!

I can not remember a day without one of Mom’s fabulous dinners up until she became too ill.  We were brought up on meat and potatoes, vegetables and great desserts.  One of my best and you mom’s and aunt Connie’s worst memories was breakfast. I was an early riser and when mom would ask what we wanted for breakfast I always called out “Oatmeal” …the others were asleep and never got a chance for anything else!

I hope this gives you a little glimpse of our family..but you really need to also ask the other aunts about their memories. They will differ greatly! Being the youngest I was spoiled rotten and also lived at a time when money was not scarce, we had a washer and dryer, a dishwasher, a rocking chair and a color TV. Life was good!

Love,
Aunt Betty

The Pampas

After a long trek from California, ten hunters and myself arrived in Lincoln, Argentina, which is located approximately 180 miles North of Buenos Aires (the town of Lincoln is so small it failed to appear on any of my Lonely Planet maps!).   As we approached our lodge, smoke bellowed from the outdoor grill and field dogs were the first to greet us. The house was simple and beautiful with sharp corners and beige paint.  It had large windows that allowed you to look through. Our surroundings were vast natural grasslands with infrequent clusters of planted trees.  By squinting your eyes you could make out horses to the North while a glance to the East presented a herd of cattle.

We met the Manager, Charlie (imagine Hugh Grant) and he assigned our rooms.  Speaking proper English he gave us stern instructions to report for lunch within the hour. During mealtime hunters were organized into groups and provided an outline of their routine for the next 3 days.   I, on the other hand, enjoyed a glass of red wine and pondered how to keep myself occupied.

After a lovely meal, the hunters outfitted themselves and headed for the duck pond and I spent the remaining afternoon roaming the house to admire its décor.  I ended my curiosity on the partially burned sheepskin rugs near the fireplace to relax in its warmth and enjoy the remaining wine.

In the following days the hunters left the lodge in the wee hours, allowing me to sleep undisturbed and wake naturally. During these silent and dreamlike days, I read books and magazines, enjoyed fresh brewed espresso, took long baths and walked the grounds.  I embraced the solitude and managed quite nicely without any concerns. At lunchtime the hunters returned briefly to eat and rest.  Soon after they would leave for their afternoon hunt and I would dally around until roughly 5pm when it was time to report the kitchen.

Lucas, their young and funny gourmet chef, took me behind the scenes and allowed me to observe, chop, stir, roll and, best of all, taste until dinner was plated.   I would then join the hunters, once again, around a large wood dining table to savor fresh grilled steak accompanied by chimichurri sauce, saffron potatoes stuffed with fresh herbed butter and a delicate, but delicious dessert consisting of caramelized apples and homemade ice cream.

It wasn’t one particular moment, but the sum of this very personal experience that left me with a positive and rejuvenating impression.  My time in the pampas was reminiscent of endless days I spent in my youth that I had long forgotten about…and now, long to have.

Professor John Roth

Attending a presentation by Professor John Roth was like taking a mini-course in Philosophy.  I envy those students who get a whole semester/quarter with him.   It was a thoughtful and inspirational evening.   I didn’t take notes, but here is what I recollect.  As you can see, he definitely found his leverage.

Questions are valuable, they open doorways for thought:
Sometimes questions offer more than answers. Their value lies in possibilities.
Here are some age old questions to ponder and to ask young people in your life:

What is important?

  1. What is better?
  2. What is right?
  3. What is truth?

Current American Society
From a historical perspective, how will we be remembered?

  1. Admiration
  2. Judgment
  3. As a time where a great deal of attention was paid to Human Rights

On Personal Responsibility and Civic Duty
What are you doing?
Are you doing enough?
– and / or –
What did we do?
Could we have done more?
Could it have been better?

On today’s atrocities, like Darfur
We must find where we have leverage.  In Johns case, he has the classroom.  A captive audience to encourage thoughts, responsibility and actions.  Where is your leverage?  Do your part.Perspective
Life will always be with troubles.  We are living in good times. There are people in the world who would like to take away our values.
Never take anything good for granted.

Where is there hope?
Look for the golden strands in history
Look for the power and influence of those who have passed away (Dominion of the Dead)
Look for inspiration in people

  •    Help others
  •    Others help you
  •    It’s human nature
  •    It’s reciprocal

Books Mentioned/Recommended
Methow River Poems by William Stafford  (the Methow river is in Washington State!)
The Dominion of the Dead by Robert Pogue Harrison
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Dining in Huntington Beach


Outdoor Alternatives

If you have a couple hours on your hands, treat yourself to lunch in the Barefoot Bar at Duke’s on the Pier.  Settle into a nice table on the outside patio and start by ordering a glass of chilled tropical Matua Chardonnay.  Drink in hand, request the delicious mixed green Crispy Wonton Salad from the Dining Room Menu and give an emphatic “yes” to Blue Cheese crumbles. Compliment the salad with fried Crab Macnut Wontons plated atop of mustard plum sauce and the ever so satisfying Hawaiian style Poke Rolls. This last dish, consisting of seared Ahi Tuna wrapped in rice paper and sautéed in Maui onions, is absolute h-e-a-v-e-n. Allow the cool ocean breeze and relaxing music factor into this excellent, quintessential Huntington Beach dining experience.  Duke’s, 317 Pacific Coast Hwy, Huntington Beach, CA 92648, 714.374.6446

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Many downtown restaurants offer patio seating, but if your looking for ambiance, look no further than Spark Woodfire Grill.  Located on the 2nd floor near the movie theaters, this stylish restaurant attracts a sophisticated dinner crowd.  Request outdoor seating, if there’s a wait, order a refreshing cocktail from the small, but sleek bar near the entrance.  If it is not too crowded, sneak out to the fire pit on the terrace and take in the ocean view.  The plates here are rich and satisfying and compliment the atmosphere.  Begin you dining experience with the excellent Chopped Green salad, and then further satisfy your taste buds with the classic herb-crusted halibut served with roasted garlic butter sauce, hazelnut green beans and rice pilaf.   Complete your romantic evening with coffee and Chocolate XXX Cake. Spark Woodfire Grill 300 Pacific Coast Hwy, Suite 202, Huntington Beach 92648, 714.960.0996

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A Family Affair

Traveling with hungry children, but tired of hamburgers and fries?  Try Wahoo’s Fish Taco on Main Street. You can easily recognize this establishment as the windows are covered with surf and pop culture stickers. Don’t let its name intimidate the kids, there are plenty of non-seafood options, but for those willing to take an ocean plunge, try the tasty blackened Fish Tacos.  Here you can spread out, be loud and enjoy a healthy and affordable meal. Wahoo’s is also convenient if you are dining alone and don’t have a lot of time.  Wahoo’s Fish Taco, 120 Main Street, Huntington Beach, 92648, 714.536.2050

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Local hotspot Chronic Tacos, located in downtown Huntington Beach, is just six short blocks from Main Street.   You can drive, bike or walk – just head north on Main Street (away from the beach) and turn left on Orange.  Take a gander and the interesting houses while you travel west, to 11th street.  It is here, on the corner of Orange and 11th, that you will discover Chronic Tacos and their mouthwatering Mexican food. Most likely there will be a line out the door as Chronic is addicting to the natives.  Fortunately, they have a large menu posted on the wall and a fairly fast assembly line.  Customizing your order is expected, be prepared to answer a series of questions based on your taste preferences. Try the Carne Asada Fatty Tacos, with onions and cilantro, and then wash it down with a cold beer.  The atmosphere is extremely casual, but this taco stand has a good family vibe. Chronic Taco, 328 11th Street, Huntington Beach, 714.960.0339

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