Sometimes inspiration for dinner strikes me at the most opportune times, like today, when I was in the midst of buying ingredients for what I thought I wanted to make for dinner. I had originally planned on grilling up some turkey burgers but needed to serve it with roasted potatoes or frozen tater tots or fries. I went to Sprouts in search of a bag of organic Yukon Gold potatoes but they didn’t have any in stock. On the way to the frozen aisle section, my eyes came across organic bag of frozen baby asparagus.
I am a huge fan of frozen veggies. They never go bad unless somehow they’re opened and not properly sealed and get freezer burn. I usually buy organic frozen peas, spinach and broccoli in bulk because they’re an easy and necessary addition to all home cooked meals. Organic frozen asparagus is like that unicorn one never expects to find. I grabbed two bags and immediately thought of a replacement dinner menu: a pasta dish with the frozen langostines I previously bought in bulk from Coscto, sautéed in garlic and butter, mixed in with freshly squeezed lemon juice and heavy whipping cream mixed with cut asparagus and topped with some lemon zest and sprinkles of crushed red pepper flakes.
I darted to the spice aisle since I was fresh out of red pepper flakes and after paying for my finds, I headed off to Trader Joe’s to get a bag of organic lemons, a bag of organic gluten-free brown rice and quinoa fusilli pasta and the organic heavy whipping cream.
To start, I took a 1/3 of the 2 lb langostines from the freezer and did a quick thaw in a bowl full of water and let it sit in the sink for about 15 minutes. I sealed up the remaining langostines in double Ziploc freezer bags and put them back in the freezer.
I got the pot of water boiling for the pasta and got the saute pan ready for the butter and garlic. In the meantime, I opened up the bag of frozen asparagus and proceeded to cut the asparagus in fourths, throwing out the ends. I wanted a size uniformity for the pasta, the langostines and asparagus.
I added 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan and swirled it around to coat the bottom completely. Then I added 2 tablespoons of crushed garlic (thank you Costco for selling these in big containers at $4.99 each). I added the thawed out langostines to the pan and seasoned them with a bit of black pepper.
When the langostines were halfway cooked, I added the pasta to the boiling water and the frozen asaparus to the pan.
I sautéed both the langostines and asparagus. After they were fully cooked, I removed them from the pan and placed onto a separate plate and stored in my warming oven.
I zested the lemons and saved the zest on a plate or bowl for later. I squeezed the lemons and set aside.
I added the remaining butter to the pan, melted it and added 1 tablespoon of garlic before adding the cream and lemon juice. I stirred frequently and kept it on medium heat so that it didn’t curdle.
Gluten free pasta tends to cook much faster than regular pasta so it’s important to watch your time, follow the estimate on the package and possibly set your timer. Once it’s al dente, I drained the pasta in a colander. Once it was fully drained, I placed the pasta back in the pot, added the previously cooked langostines and asparagus on top of the pasta and poured the sauce from the saucepan into the pot.
I mixed up all the ingredients making sure the sauce coated all the ingredients. I sprinkled a bit of red pepper chili flakes and added the lemon zest and served!
1 1 lb bag of organic gluten-free brown rice and quinoa rotini
1 lb frozen langostines, thawed
1 lb frozen organic asparagus
3 tablespoons of organic crushed garlic
4 tablespoons of organic unsalted butter
4 organic lemons
1 quart of organic whipping cream
Organic black pepper to season
Organic red chili pepper flakes to season
1. Thaw the frozen langostines in the refrigerator overnight or a quick thaw in a bowl of water.
2. Boil a pot of water
3. While the pot is boiling, place 2 tablespoons of butter in the saute pan and swirl to coat the surface.
4. Add garlic to the pan and spread it evenly before adding the langostines.
5. Season the langostines with black pepper.
6. Add pasta to the pot of boiling water.
7. Cut the frozen asparagus into thirds and add to the langostines when they’re halfway cooked, stirring often.
8. Once the langostines and asparagus are cooked, remove them from the pan, place them on a plate and into a warming oven or in the oven set at the lowest temperature.
9. Drain the pasta and place back in the pot.
10. Add 2 tablespoons of butter in the saute pan and add 1 tablespoon of garlic.
11. Add the cream and lemon juice, stirring often.
12. Keep it at medium heat for about 5 minutes.
13. Once the sauce is done, take the plate out of the oven and add to the pasta in the pot, adding the sauce on top.
14. Stir so that the ingredients are all blended together.
15. Add the lemon zest and sprinkle some red chili pepper flakes.
16. Serve and enjoy!
When I heard about a reasonably priced casual eats opening in Venice, I was hopeful that it would at least be decent in flavor and quality. We chose Easter Sunday to try it out. We initially headed to Astro Doughnuts but they were completely sold out of the PB&J doughnuts and had no fried chicken left so we ventured 7 minutes south to American Beauty.
We parked in the residential neighborhood and walked over to the corner lot. There are only plastic stools and benches for seating and makeshift tables. You order at the window and minutes later, they call your name.
In planning out my order a few weeks prior, I had decided to get a cheeseburger patty on top of the fried chicken patty to capture the best of both worlds. My husband ordered a double cheeseburger and we shared an order of the kale salad and fries.
The kale salad was quite delicious. It probably had a bit more dressing than I would have liked but it was light and the lemon vin was the perfect accompaniment to the crispy croutons and the pecorino cheese interspersed throughout.
My husband thoroughly enjoyed his burger. What made their burger patty unique is the onion mix added to the beef so it gives it an added dimension of flavor and depth.
My double patty, the double turf which I am coining the ggfoodie, was the perfect combination. I had the melted cheesy goodness layered on top of the onion meaty patty sitting atop a crispy breaded chicken breast with the house sauce sitting as a dip at the bottom of the double patty. That was a winning combination. I didn’t bother with the bun because I eat my carbs in fries.
The cole slaw wasn’t our favorite because it was a bit oily and greasy but everything else definitely worked for us.
The Win-Dow at American Beauty is definitely a solid winner and we will be frequenting this casual and cheap eats for many years to come.
The Win-Dow at American Beauty
425 Rose Avenue
Venice, CA 90291
http://americanbeauty.la/menu.html
I had been wanting to try this casual eats for some time. It’s not quite in downtown Culver City so it’s away from the madness and perhaps that was my hesitation previously. However, on Good Friday, after a long, exhausting week, we just wanted to go somewhere and have some decent, reasonably priced food without any effort of getting dressed up.
Seasalt Fish Grill is located in a building with adjacent free parking. You walk up to the counter, order and they give you a number to place on your table. It’s beer, wine, sake and shoji only. They have a TV where you can watch whatever sports event is in season. The seating is casual and comfortable. The restaurant is not very big but it didn’t seem to be very busy on a Friday night.
We ordered the seaweed salad, half spicy tuna, half salmon poke bowl with mango, corn, avocado, the North Shore shrimp which came with rice, red onions and pickled cucumber and the fish and chips with garlic Parmesan fries.
The poke bowl was the winner though some bites of the fish were tough but overall the flavor combination was varied and enjoyable. The seaweed salad was solid and had remnants of sesame flavor.
The North Shore shrimp had the shell on the breading which was unexpected, and it tasted sweet, unlike the three plates of garlic shrimp we had at Giovannis’s Shrimp Truck on the North Shore of Oahu. The pickled cucumber countered the sweetness of the plate.
The fish and chips were okay. The breading didn’t attach to the fish in 2 of the 3 fish sticks and the garlic Parmesan flavor didn’t absorb into the fries.
Overall, for the quality of the food, we would give it 3 stars. The location, convenience, casualness and service, we would give a 4. I wouldn’t go out of my way to dine here and for casual seafood eats, I would choose California Fish grill but if you’re in the area, about to watch a show at Kirk Douglas and don’t want to spend a lot of money, Sea Salt Fish Grill would be a solid option.
Seasalt Fish Grill
9901 Washington Blvd, Ste. 101
Culver City, CA 90232
https://seasaltfishgrill.com/culvercity/index.html
After a very grueling TRX/Pilates combo class, I was beyond famished and was thinking of healthier eats so as not to complete negate my morning workout. I remembered that California Fish Grill was just around the corner from Yogaworks so off I went.
My favorite is their swai with brown rice, French fry split and grilled zucchini. The garlic butter sauce adds an added layer of fat and flavor which is acceptable in light of my workout. The fish is always cooked perfectly, slightly charred and yet moist. The rice is fluffy and the fries are crispy. The grilled zucchini rounds out the meal which bumps up the health factor a bit.
For a total of $10.17, it’s definitely a bargain on this side of town and is a very well rounded meal where one does not feel deprived. For a healthy budget friendly meal, one can’t go wrong at California Fish Grill.
California Fish Grill
730 S. Allied Way
El Segundo, CA 90245
https://www.cafishgrill.com/
I first heard about Rodini Park’s opening because I follow Hash on Instagram. We finally had the opportunity to try out their offerings tonight. We had 7:45 tickets to “Us” at the Cinemark in Playa Vista and needed a quick dinner option.
Luckily, Rodini Park did not disappoint. It’s in the office space enclave in Playa Vista to the right of Hash but around the corner. There were a few people ahead of us in line but it moved quickly. Most of the food is premade so it’s a bit like Chipotle where you put your meal together as you go through the line. There are a few exceptions which are grilled up upon your order.
I ordered the gyro and the chicken shawarma which were already ensconced in their proper place in the chain.
My husband ordered the chicken shawarma and chicken breast and the latter ended up being grilled.
We also picked up a custard dessert with a super flaky crust.
The food itself was actually quite good. We both ordered the platters with yellow rice. I also opted for hummus and ordered the garlic sauce. Although I opted not to get pita, I used my sauces as dips for my gyro and shawarma which were the perfect accompaniment. Considering that you can get a complete meal, carbs, salad, protein for about $10 + tax, this hidden gem is definitely worth a visit. Also the parking is validated though in our case, the gate arm was up on arrival so we had to ask one of the guys in the kitchen to help us get out and he had to get security from another building to get permission.
All in all, Rondini Park was a definite excellent find and so incredibly priced for everything we got. It will be on my go to list for comfort food and weekend eats.
Rondini Park
12181 Bluff Creek Park
Playa Vista, CA 90094
https://www.rodinipark.com/playa-vista
I came upon Rasselbock on Yelp as a New & Noteworthy restaurant in close proximity to our neighborhood. I waited a bit until we were in the right mood for the German treats that it had to offer. I made the reservation through Yelp and lucky for us that we did, because on arrival for our 8 pm Friday night dinner reservation, we overheard that there was an hour wait.
Our server came over to take our drink order shortly after we were seated. We quickly ordered our dinner entrees after our drinks arrived at approximately around 8:15. We didn’t get our food until around 30-35 minutes later which seemed excessive for what we ordered except the other tables around us had also not been served their dinners so I would recommend more kitchen staff for weekend evenings, space permitting.
The food was actually quite delicious. I ordered the Jager schnitzel with Brussels sprouts and spicy green beans. The fried chicken breast was perfectly crispy and breaded on the outside and was quite juicy and tender on the inside. The mushroom sauce coating the top was really quite exquisite, giving it just a bit of umph to take it to the next level. The Brussels sprouts were perfectly cooked and dense, very subtly seasoned. The spicy green beans had a bit of kick but even I could tolerate it with my sensitive tummy. My husband ordered the Rasselbock burger with perfectly crispy seasoned fries. He said it was a solid burger.
All in all for a total of $76 with tax and tip, it was a very reasonable Friday dinner out. The clientele was ethnically diverse but not overly eclectic. It was a very lively scene with a few TV’s up for the sports enthusiasts. Even though the kitchen took a while, we would definitely be back to just chill out, take in the scenery and eat some really solid relatively inexpensive German specialties.
Rasselbock
3817 Grand View Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90066
https://www.rasselbocklb.com/
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