27 Nov 2012
by scolgin
in American Series, Food, Humor, Observations, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories)
Tags: Byck's Department Store, Dann Byck, Derby pie, dessert, Kentucky Derby, Kern's Kitchen, Kurt Vonnegut, Louisville, recipes, Robert Altman
I am fortunate to have not lost many friends over the years. There was a rash of deadly car crashes in high school, reckless kids gone almost before they began, but since then things have pretty much been quiet. With the exception, that is, of one of my dearest friends — a Southern gentleman named Dann Byck.
Dann at Byck’s Department Store in Louisville, 1977
Dann would bristle at that description of him, which is exactly why I use it. He had a good sense of humor. We met at a coffee joint on a snooty street in Santa Monica where we would both sometimes sit in the mornings and watch the beautiful Range Rover mothers push their babies past in Italian-made Peg Perego strollers. More
22 Nov 2012
by scolgin
in Food, Observations, Starlets, Yoga Students & Quinoa (stories)
Tags: clam chowder, cranberry sauce, food, Foods of the World, Oxnard, risotto, Solvang, stuffing, Thanksgiving, Turkey
If you had told me, as a child, that Thanksgiving would one day be a favorite holiday, I might’ve laughed. For the younger me, the fourth Thursday in November was a day of dread.
Me and mom, around the time of the Thanksgiving Rebellion
The memories are hazy. As I’ve remained close to my extended family on my mother’s side, I can only assume they were my father’s relatives. I can still remember rolling up to a curb somewhere in the Southern California suburbs, and not wanting to get out of the car. More
20 Nov 2012
by scolgin
in Food, Humor, Recipes
Tags: anchovies, bigoli in salsa, Caesar salad, Mario Batali, pasta, Rialto fish market, Saveur, Venice
Oftentimes when I have a specific ingredient I want to cook, I’ll have a vague recollection of a wonderful dish I had once, read about or made myself that uses said ingredient. And then I’ll set out — sometimes successfully, sometimes not — to remember what it was and find it.
Venetian bigoli in salsa
That was what was happening on a lazy Sunday afternoon as I contemplated what I was going to make for dinner. I felt like Italian, and moving jars, bags and boxes around in the pantry, I discovered a forgotten bag of whole wheat spaghetti. More
16 Nov 2012
by scolgin
in Food, Humor
Tags: beer, Duke's Malibu, food, humor, Kevin Jewelers, Kobayashi, Modelo, pistachio nuts, Taco Tuesday
Sometimes when I’m out at a pub or bar, I’m amazed how much beer I can drink. I’m not some hefty beer guzzling dude or Japanese competitive drinker, a Kobayashi of quaffing. But somehow, against the laws of physics and reason, I can make beer disappear like the most talented illusionist.
Hot dog eating champion Kobayashi
Recently, we went out to Duke’s in Malibu for Taco Tuesday, and I ordered a pint of pale ale. It was gone in about 48 seconds, so I ordered another. That one lasted a little longer, but was still empty well before the food even arrived. So for my third I went the inexpensive route and got the can-of-Modelo beer special. Or two. More
13 Nov 2012
by scolgin
in Food, Humor, Recipes, Sensational Salads
Tags: California Pizza Kitchen, Cheesecake Factory, chopped salad, Italian cuisine, pecorino romano, recipe, salads, salami
Lately when I’ve gone to the fridge feeling uninspired and not knowing what to make for dinner, I’ve often turned to something that was missing from my repertoire for years — the chopped salad.
While not codified in the same way as other great salads, the Caesar for example (romaine, anchovy, lemon, parmesan and garlic), or the Cobb (avocado, bacon, egg, chicken, etc.), it is precisely its flexibility that makes the chopped salad so great. More
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