Be back soon. Family business to attend to…

Cin Cin.

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Beet, Leeks and Goat Cheese Pizza

Every time you flip through your favorite cooking magazine or cookbook, you’re looking at a recipe that’s been tested and re-tested and then tested again, sometimes over generations. All of the kinks have been worked out—the ingredients measured to the tenth-of-an-ounce, the cooking times dialed to the second, the methods determined and then refined. When you’re making up the recipe yourself you have two options. You can wait to write about the dish until it’s all sorted out. Or, you can lay it all out on the table en medias res. A little peek into the oven while the dish is only half-baked, as it were.
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The subject of my first chef crush, Mark Ladner, now the executive chef at Mario Batali’s Del Posto, was the focus of a fantastic profile in the New York Observer earlier this week. It’s wonderful seeing this exceptional chef finally get a moment in the spotlight. Read more here.

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Didn’t get a chance to download the Celebrity Italian Table Cookbook yet? Pasta maker Barilla has extended their commitment to donate $1 to America’s Second Harvest through the end of March. Not sure what I’m talking about? Read my original post on the subject, Good Cooking, Good Deeds.

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Every time I go to the farmer’s market, the butcher or the market to collect ingredients for a meal, I’m reminded how fortunate I am. Not only do I have access to some of the freshest locally grown produce year-round, and high-quality, humanely raised meats (see yesterday’s blog post) but I have the luxury of being choosey about what I buy. Unfortunately, millions and millions of Americans do not have this luxury. America’s Second Harvest is an incredible organization that works day in and day out to provide meals to families in need in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. This month Italian pasta maker, Barilla, is promising to donate $1 for every volume of their Celebrity Italian Table Cookbook that’s downloaded during the month of February. The free cookbook is the work of culinary impresario Mario Batali and a handful of Hollywood celebs, including Stanley Tucci and Natalie Portman, and has some really interesting recipes. I can’t wait to try the Sicilian Chickpea Fritters and the Farfalle with Pancetta, Rucola and Truffle Paste. There are only nine days left in the month, so pass this on, and help put food in the bellies of those who need it most.

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Warning: The contents of this post, though about food, will likely make you lose your appetite.

Nearly 143 million pounds of raw and frozen beef were recalled from the nation’s food supply yesterday—meat served in school cafeterias and fast food chains—after the Humane Society released a video showing the inhumane treatment of cows destined for slaughter. I first heard the story on NPR, while crunching my homemade granola at breakfast. Needless to say, as the story progressed I ceased chewing. Even as the granola turned to mush in my mouth I couldn’t continue. Eating seemed inappropriate.

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30 wishes — Blowing out my candles.

They say 30 is the new 20. If that’s true, then last Monday was my second twentieth birthday. Fortunately, it was much better than the first one — the wine was much better (and I could drink it legally this time) and the angst of being on the cusp of everything was gone. My twenties were vague and poetic, full of adventure and discovery, bizarre jobs, cross-country moves, slowly learning how to convert life’s sugar and spice into prose. My thirties are poised to whip my becoming into being.

SpicySaltySweet reflects those life changes. Continue reading »

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Brix is changing! Don’t worry, change is good. I’ll be taking a little time off of writing to put the finishing touches on my blog’s new look. Feel free to email if you have any cooking or wine pairing questions at leah@brixonline.com.

Until then, eat well!

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Ever since I visited Spain seven years ago, I’ve often felt like a Spanish girl trapped in a white Jewish girl’s body. So what if I’m only five-foot-two and blond instead of lean, leggy and dark? I found my home in saffron-scented rice, fresh shellfish, still briny and sweet from the sea, and the garlic, olives, tomatoes and other deliciousness that abound in Spain. I chased different incarnations of tapas, Spanish small plates perfect for sharing with friends over afternoon sangria. And I fell in love with paella, the Valencian classic named for the Catalan word for frying pan. Continue reading »

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Have you ever heard of the book Who Moved My Cheese? It’s about two mice in a maze that discover, long after mastering the maze, that the cheese at the end is gone. One mouse sits and laments its misfortune, slowly wasting away while wondering where the cheese has gone, waiting for it to come back. The other mouse, the mouse we assume that we should all endeavor to be more like, goes back out into the maze to seek new cheese, then, upon finding it, goes back and retrieves the other mouse and drags his reluctant tail into the future. (This is an amazing oversimplification, culled from what I took away from a book I read about seven years ago and may not be entirely accurate—but you get the point.)What the author fails to mention is that there’s another kind of mouse. The kind of mouse that, upon finding the cheese in the first place, sniffs, takes a bite, expounds on the aromas, flavor profiles and texture, declares its love of cheese and then takes off, back into the maze, in search of newer, stinkier cheeses.I’m that mouse.When I last wrote I was “Making the Mozza Life,” but frankly it wasn’t much of a life. Fourteen-hour workdays and an hour-long commute got old, quick. As much as I loved being part of L.A.’s hottest restaurant and enjoying pillowy pies and prosciutto six days a week, I decided to move on. With a brief detour into public relations, which wasn’t my slice of cheese, I’ve changed course again and am finally doing what I love, writing about wine.Which means…Brix is back (with a couple of changes).In addition to writing up the amazing wines I taste (for work and play) and occasional forays out into the world to dine and imbibe, I’m going to be writing a lot more about cooking at home—the search for recipes, the successes, the failures and the people I force to eat what I make. I’ll post recipes or links if they’re from sites like Epicurious or Food Network, pics if I’ve got them and recommendations for simple, budget-conscious wine pairings for everyday living. From you, my reader, I ask for feedback: Did you try the wine? The recipe? Do you have something you’d like me to try to make, a new pasta maker you’d like me to try or a recommendation on a place to shop? Brix was designed to be about food, wine, travel and community. I’d like to spend a bit more time on community.Are you in?

A Brix Dinner Party Preview

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