Eat In. The Mozza Cookbook.

Mozza is easily one of L.A.'s most quintessential restaurants: you can't sit a table without being able to reach out and touch any one of Hollywood's major leaguers (but please don't, because that would be weird), and the delicious cuisine there is the work of superstar restauranteurs Nancy Silverton, Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich.

As such, it's not always easy to book a table at the establishment, and it probably isn't always easy on your wallet. But now you can bring Mozza right into your home. Silverton's own The Mozza Cookbook: Recipes from Los Angeles's Favorite Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria was just released yesterday, and features many of Mozza's most beloved dishes, from the fried squash blossoms with ricotta to fresh ricotta and egg ravioli with brown butter to fennel sausage, panna, and scallion pizza.

I'm salivating just thinking about it! So if you happen to master some of these amazing dishes, you know who to invite over (hint: me!). Happy cooking!

-- Chau Tu

Eat In. Easy egg salad.

Homemade egg salad makes for a great simple lunch or snack. I made a batch using six eggs last Friday, and it turned out really well, with Hellmann's mayonnaise, French's classic yellow mustard (I considered buying Dijon but decided to just go with what I had), and a handful of green olives.

After hard-boiling the eggs, I cooled them in a big bowl of cold water, then peeled and chopped them, tossing a few yolks away in the process. I also included some chopped pimento-stuffed green olives from the supermarket's olive bar.

In a large bowl, I put a good few tablespoons of mayonnaise, and a generous squirt of mustard, then mixed in the chopped eggs and olives, stirred it all up, and it came together really well.

Served on toast, with juicy tomato slices on top, and plenty of salt and pepper, it made a great late lunch, with a mug of PG Tips tea. And there was plenty leftover for Saturday.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

Eat In. Pasta with green vegetables.

I had a delicious pasta dish (Tagliatelle alla Primavera) on Saturday at Gemma in NYC. By Tuesday night, I was trying (and pretty successfully at that) to recreate it in my own kitchen.

Ingredients: Barilla fettuccine, one small squash, half a bunch of asparagus, one clove of fresh garlic, Colavita extra virgin olive oil, butter, Parmesan, salt, and pepper.

Cook pasta according to package instructions (usually about 11 minutes in boiling water). I put a few chunks of butter in the bottom of a large bowl, to toss the pasta with when it finished cooking and was drained.

I cut off the bottoms of the asparagus, then chopped the stalks into about 2-inch sections. With the squash, I cut the ends off, but waited until it was parboiled to slice it into disks.

After the vegetables had cooked (in a saucepan of boiling water) for just a few minutes to slightly tenderize, I drained them and put them in a pan to sauté with the olive oil and chopped garlic. I didn't really time it, but probably something like 5-10 minutes, until they looked cooked, added a little Parmesan, salt, and pepper while the veggies were still in the pan, then added that whole mix atop the lightly buttered pasta, and tossed.

A great thing about this dish is you can use whatever green vegetables you like--peas, broccoli, artichoke, etc.

This version served two, but could easily be altered for any number of people.

If you like the sound of this dish, check out my (also vegetarian) version of Pane e Vino's Fusilli con Melanzane e Scamorza here.

Buon Appetito!

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credits: the BEAT

Eat In. Barbara's Shredded Oats.

A little over a month ago, my great friend Ashley gave me a dry square of Barbara's Shredded Oats to try in her Hell's Kitchen kitchen. I've been hooked since--I get my fix in a little bowl with 2% milk.

It's a delicious and healthy start to the day, and available at plenty of supermarkets, like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.

With a box of Barbara's in your cupboard, there's no excuse to miss the most important meal of the day.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

Eat In. Garage Pizza.

Despite being the full-fledged party city that we are, Los Angeles actually closes shop pretty early. Once bars have their last calls for the night, you're reduced to only a handful of places to hang out, especially if you try and stick to nicer 'hoods.

Here's your new favorite option: Garage Pizza. All right, it's a pizza joint, which doesn't make anything super special, but the pies are huge and the place is open until 4am -- the perfect way to truly end your night (because it's basically morning). It's a little pricier than usual pizza places, but the food really is worth it -- pizzas are loaded with yummy, fresh ingredients, and surprisingly not that greasy. The crust is right there above thin. The above there is the Game Pie.

Best time to check out the goods is on Mondays, when all pizzas are $15 from open to close -- noon til 4am.

Garage Pizza is located at 4339 Sunset Blvd. in Silverlake. And they do deliver!

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: the BEAT

Eat In. Potato tacos.

Some of my favorite tacos in town are made with potatoes. El Carmen makes really delicious ones with a slice of avocado and salsa on top. Lotería's are great too. I've even seen potato tacos pop up at the Whole Foods hot food bar recently. I thought it was time I tried to make them at home.

At Gelson's I found some homemade-style corn tortillas which are chewy, like the ones I love at Poquito Más and The Spanish Kitchen. I boiled and mashed Yukon Gold potatoes, and added ripe avocado slices and a little spicy salsa. Pretty good!

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

Eat In. Fresh fruit salad with yogurt and coconut.

Whenever I'm trying to be healthy, yogurt and fruit are my first thoughts. Earlier this week, I got a small container of strawberries, blueberries, and mango at Whole Foods. I figured I'd split this between three mornings for breakfast, with yogurt.

I used Stonyfield Farm organic low fat french vanilla, but any favorite yogurt would work here. To make things a bit more delicious and interesting (and admittedly less healthy), I topped it off with some sweetened shredded coconut I had in the cupboard. This was a move inspired by the Fresh Fruit Salad at Malibu's John's Garden--one of my all-time favorite lunch spots. They also use chopped roasted almonds, which I may include tomorrow.

This is a great quick and easy breakfast, or a good sandwich alternative for lunch on a summery day--like the ones we've been having this week.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

Check It. Howie's Ranch Market [Guest Post].

Remnants of Americana culture sounds like something few and far between to the rest of the Los Angeles County, but look no further -- aside from the all-American ice cream shoppe, the local grocer has still survived the test of time.

Howie's Ranch Market, a small grocery store located on the central street of San Gabriel Boulevard, provides choice cuts of beef from Alexander's meats -- potential idea for a nice homemade dinner for two -- baked goods from Lisa's bakery, as well as high quality produce. Though it is small, it provides shoppers all they need for their grocery lists. Howie's has everything that can remind many of 1950s nostalgia. What's missing is the milkman.

Though the prices are slightly higher than say, the more corporate high end markets (Whole Foods or Gelson's), it is definitely worth the splurge for the quality and the service.

Howie's Ranch Market is located at 6580 N. San Gabriel Blvd. in San Gabriel.

-- Muriel Nacar

Photo credit: hometown-pasadena.com

Etc. Happy Valentine's Day.

Happy Valentine's Day, readers!

if you're eating in tonight, we recommend classic, always-romantic Italian - smoky fusilli perhaps

with some pinot noir

or napa brut rosé if you're feeling festive

and a good DVD

enjoy!

-- the BEAT

Photo credit: Sweet Bee Cottage

Eat In. Malo's Ground Beef and Pickle Taco.

Silverlake's Malo has a new sister restaurant that just opened up in downtown, called Mas Malo, that's creating a ton of buzz right now. But if you can't get a reservation, and are still craving those delicious tacos, enjoy some at home!

Malo's own Robert Luna divulged his secrets of the ground beef and pickle taco to KCET. Check out the recipe below:

Eat In. Smoky fusilli goodness.

Last night for dinner, I tried to re-create a pasta dish from one of my favorite Italian restaurants in L.A. The "Fusilli con Melanzane e Scamorzaa" at Pane e Vino is so delicious. Before having it, I was not particularly a fan of smoked cheese. The smoked mozzarella in this dish though, gives the vegetarian meal such heft (in a good way).

On their menu it's simply described as "corkscrew pasta, smoked mozzarella, eggplant, tomato sauce". Simple enough--but a great combination I honestly wouldn't have come up with on my own.

I had an unopened jar of Trader Joe's Traditional Marinara Sauce in my cupboard, but stopped off at Gelson's for the other ingredients: De Cecco brand fusilli, a small eggplant, and both fresh small mozzarella balls, and smoked Gruyère (I couldn't find smoked mozzarella and didn't want to forgo the smoked flavor).

I rinsed, sliced into discs, chopped (into about 1/2 inch cubes), then rinsed again, and salted the eggplant. Apparently (in some quick research I did) eggplant has a tendency to be bitter, and rinsing and salting can help. I let the rinsed, salted eggplant sit in a colander for 10 or so minutes as I got everything else ready.

The rest was so easy--I just cooked the pasta, drained it, poured it into a large bowl with some marinara sauce at the bottom of it, threw in the eggplant and cheeses, tossed it all together, adding some more sauce along the way, then put it in the oven (at 325° F) for about 20 minutes for the cheeses to melt.

Delizioso!

Pane e Vino is located at 8265 Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. Info: panevinola.com, (323) 651-4600

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: panevinola.com

Eat In. An Indian holiday dinner.

Christmas dinner is on my mind, and today I'm thinking it may be fun to go a non-traditional route and have Indian food. This may be due to the recent addition of a new jar of Patak's Sweet Mango Chutney to the cupboard. And Trader Joe's has a great frozen tandoori naan. Jamie Oliver has some good curry recipes. With all this rain in L.A., eating London (or India) style is appealing. Fish and chips could be good too--but more difficult to make at home.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: ukcornershoppe.com

Eat In. Trader Joe's candy cane / cookie ice cream.

So, apparently (according to a radio ad I heard this morning), there's an ice cream that has these in it. At Trader Joe's. A quart for $3.99.

Definitely on my Christmas grocery list. Or maybe even a 'this weekend' grocery list.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: thekitchn.com

Drink It. Hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps [Thirsty Thursdays!].

Sure we had a heatwave earlier this week, but there's no doubt it's about to get chilly again. A good excuse to get your throat warm with some alcohol, right?

Here's my favorite -- and super easy -- drink for the season: hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps. It's about as easy as you can get:

Ingredients:
Milk
Hot chocolate mix/chocolate syrup
Peppermint schnapps

Heat up milk in a mug or over a stovetop. Mix hot chocolate mix in. Pour in approximately one shot of peppermint schnapps (more or less according to taste). And enjoy!

For extra festiveness, top off with some whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon, or add in a peppermint candy cane as a stirrer.

-- Chau Tu

Eat In. Cottage cheese.

Still avoiding hard food post-dental surgery, I'm enjoying the simple goodness of cottage cheese. It's so versatile--you can literally have it at any time of the day. It goes well with everything from pineapple or strawberries in the morning, to lightly toasted sourdough with cracked pepper and sea salt in the evening, or just on its own for a mid-day snack.

Gelson's sells a convenient four-pack of California-made Knudsen brand 'On the Go!' cottage cheese, which are about the size of small yogurts (4 ounces).

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: sodahead.com

Eat It. Macaroni and Cheese.

I had a root canal today, which means I'm eating soft foods. I considered having cream of wheat for dinner, then realized many macaroni and cheeses are soft enough that they don't require too much chewing, and it's a much more satisfying dinner than a hot breakfast cereal. Homemade macaroni and cheese is always best, but if you're functioning on little sleep and had a long day at the office, you'll want to buy pre-made.

And so, a few of the best macaroni and cheeses in L.A. --

Swingers diner (pictured above)

Joan's on Third

O-Bar (lobster mac and cheese)

The Edison (truffle mac and cheese)

Trader Joe's (frozen)

Gelson's (from hot bar at deli)

One of the best homemade mac and cheeses I've had was an Ina Garten a.k.a. Barefoot Contessa recipe--breadcrumbs on top, Swingers-style.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: laist.com

Eat In. Key Lime Pie.

After Thanksgiving in Key West (including several delicious slices of various pies), I have Key Lime pie on my mind.

While I haven't made one myself, Gourmet has a classic recipe, and Nellie & Joe's Famous Lime Juice is available quite widely (West Hollywood's BevMo! for example).

Or you can just go to Houston's - whose Key Lime pie, I can now say with experience, rivals the island's.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: Getty via rickbakas.com

Eat In. Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Pie.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I think everyone is getting excited about the feasts full of roast turkey and sweet potatoes on the horizon. One thing about Thanksgiving desserts is, there's usually not a lot of chocolate involved. If the chocolate lover in you wants to change that, try this Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Pie from the November 2007 issue of Gourmet Magazine.

Full recipe here.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: gourmet.com

Eat In. Momofuku Milk Bar (in your home!).

Every one in New York is crazy about David Chang and his Momofuku empire of restaurants, and after hitting up the Milk Bar in July, I can understand the hype. But you won't have to buy a plane ticket anymore to get a taste -- Momofuku Milk Bar is coming to your house.

The eatery just launched its shipping website, which means you can order that Crack Pie (named so because it's apparently that addicting) and those delicious cookies and enjoy them right in your own home. Couldn't get more simpler than that. And with the holidays coming up, it could make for the perfect gift for your foodie friend.

Notes: sure, the prices look expensive but they're the same as they would be in-store, and this is some name brand foods here. And if you do want to see how addicting that Crack Pie is, you'll have to pay for an overnight shipping fee -- the pies are "time and temperature sensitive" and should (would) be consumed immediately.

Or, if you don't want to dole up the cash, try the L.A. Times' recipe for crack pie.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: Momofuku

Eat In. Caprese sandwich.

Ahh, Caprese. A Caprese salad is a great appetizer, especially during the summer. A Caprese sandwich is great light meal--lunch or dinner--year-round.

Key ingredients: good sourdough, buffalo mozzarella, ripe tomatoes, basil, sea salt, cracked pepper, extra virgin olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Pesto spread is optional, and I really don't think necessary.

Lightly toast the bread, place slices of mozzarella and tomatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper on the sourdough, drizzle some balsamic over it, close up the sandwich, and enjoy!

Kettle chips make a great side.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT