Meatless Monday: Oatmeal with Walnuts, Dried Cranberries & Maple Syrup

It's all about breakfast--it will set the tone for your day.

Sadly, this is the meal that many people opt to skip, or rely on overly processed foods for (cereal, fast food, etc.).

So bypass all those processed cereals (since when is "cereal" worthy of an entire grocery store aisle?). And the frozen processed waffles and the like. And even bypass the instant "sugar bomb" packages of oatmeal (if you want to know more, read Mark Bittman's article on how McDonald's ruined oatmeal). They're less healthy and more expensive than plain, old oatmeal.

Instead, pick up a carton of plain oatmeal, and know in your heart that you have the power to embellish it yourself. I love both the regular stuff, which cooks up in about five minutes flat--how's that for fast food?--and steal cut oatmeal, which takes a little longer but pays you off in flavor.

Foodie Event: Truckit Fest Brings Food and Culture to Downtown LA

On Sunday, Truckit Fest rolled into downtown L.A.'s historic Union Station, bringing with it over 40 food trucks, art vendors, and music performers.

As a wise man once said, where the food trucks go, the foodies soon follow. This was certainly the case on Sunday's packed event.

With my VIP pass, I arrived bright and early, ready to sample the offerings. In addition to serious food lovers, I spotted a lot of local press coverage, including foodie haven the LA Weekly.

Sous Vide Scallops with Pea Tendrils and Buerre Blanc Sauce

Sous Vide Scallops with Pea Tendrils and Buerre Blanc Sauce

Scallops + Bacon + Peas + Butter

Don't those flavor profiles sound fabulous?

Continuing with my Sous Vide Supreme experiments, here's my latest recipe for Sous Vide Scallops with Pea Tendrils and Buerre Blanc Sauce.

I cooked the scallops sous vide with rendered bacon fat to a beautiful medium rare (all vacuum sealed together in a bag). Then I seared them on the stove, and served them over sauteed pea tendrils with a tangy Buerre Blanc sauce.

The sous vide scallops were stunning. That's the only word for it.

Kitchen Basics: Beurre Blanc Sauce

Here's my version of Buerre Blanc Sauce, which is just a fancy way to say tangy butter sauce. It literally means "white butter" in French.

This sauce especially delicious over vegetables, pan-roasted chicken, fish, and shellfish.

Buerre Blanc Sauce
makes 1/4 cup
cooking time: about 10 minutes
Print Recipe

An Exclusive Look at Son of Gun Restaurant from Animal Chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo

Courtesy of Huffington Post

The Huffington Post was granted an exclusive sneak peek at Son of a Gun, the new nautical-themed, seafood-centric restaurant from acclaimed Animal chefs, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo. They're also two of my favorite chefs.

Check out this great article by Anna Almendrala to find out what three heavy-hitter chefs were dining that night (hint--one of their names contains silver), what they served for their staff for dinner, and what Chef Shook was snacking on in the kitchen that night. There's also a slideshow, featuring the prep and creation of their dishes (I love seeing inside the kitchen).

Animal is one of my favorite restaurants, and despite being known for meat, the fish dishes show surprising finesse. I can't wait to check this place out!

Click here to view the article on Huffington Post