Category: Tasty Recipes

Pork Chop, Pink Peppercorn Sauce

Brined Pan-Seared Pork Chop, Pink Peppercorn Sauce, Fried Sage

One Pound duBreton Pork Chop
Pink Peppercorn Sauce, Fried Sage

Those who are familiar with San Pedro, our charming seaside corner of Los Angeles, know we are blessed with several beautiful feathery peppertrees that line our quaint streets. Recently, I harvested a bunch peppercorns for a still life photography session.

Pink Peppercorns

Now what to do with this cornucopia of pink peppercorns? Pink peppercorn brine and pink peppercorn sauce were paired with gorgeous one pound duBreton pork chops.

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Chef Bernard Ibarra’s Moroccan Spiced Free Range Chicken

Chef Bernard Ibarra's Moroccan Spiced Free Range Chicken

Seared Moroccan Spiced Free Range Chicken
House Dried Fruit, Bulgur, Catalina Farm Vegetable Couscous
Salted Lemon Vinaigrette, Fez Spice Mix Paint

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy in partnership with Terranea Resort and Whole Foods Market recently hosted their annual Palos Verdes Pastoral Garden-to-Table Dining Experience. This year’s super-successful event highlighted foods and flavors native to Mediterranean Climate Regions.

Terranea Resort Executive Chef Bernard Ibarra showcased the best of California handcrafted, organic, and sustainable food and wine unique to our California climate, 1 of only 5 Mediterranean Climate Regions in the world.

These include the Mediterranean Basin, California, Central Chile, Western South Africa, and South and Western Australia. While comprising only 2% of the earth’s surface, these regions are home to 20% of the earth’s plant species.

Chef Bernard takes advantage of this biodiversity in his menu. The Chicken Course alone featured Mediterranean herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables including chili, cumin, coriander, fennel, paprika, honey, olive oil, lemon, rosemary, thyme, turmeric, bulgur, couscous, parsley, almonds, apricots, mustard, saffron, squash, and, of course wine.

The Chef graciously shares his recipe for Seared Moroccan Spiced Free Range Chicken below.

Chef Bernard Ibarra's Moroccan Spiced Free Range Chicken

See the entire menu and read about the fabulous 2017 Palos Verdes Pastoral Dining Experience and the important work of the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy here.

Chef Bernard Ibarra's Moroccan Spiced Free Range Chicken

Moroccan Spiced Free Range Chicken Recipe
by Chef Bernard Ibarra

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Braised Short Ribs over Chickpea Fusilli #glutenfree

Braised Short Ribs over Chickpea Fusilli #glutenfree

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs over Chickpea Fusilli
Roasted Cardamom Carrots, Horseradish Cream, Chives

Braised Short Ribs over Chickpea Fusilli is the second of two very popular dishes we served at “Sip & Savor: A Gluten-Free Experience” to support the Celiac Disease Foundation on behalf of Explore Cuisine.

Often, gluten-free dishes are vegetarian, as many health conscious consumers fall into both categories. However, there are several people with Celiac disease that are neither vegetarian nor vegan and simply crave dishes that are traditionally made with wheat, such as short ribs with buttered egg noodles.

Our dish is a gluten-free version of that crave-worthy meal. We substitute Explore Cuisine chickpea fusilli for the noodles and use gluten-free flour in the preparation.

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Lemon Butter Spaghetti Tower with Caviar

Lemon Butter Spaghetti Tower with Caviar, Creme Fraiche, Chives

Lemon Butter Spaghetti Tower with Caviar
Crème Fraîche, Chives

Taking little sturgeon eggs to new heights, the usual suspects are combined in an unusual presentation. Spaghetti is tossed with lemon butter and twirled into a tall tower. Chives and crème fraîche make their predictable appearance then the pasta is crowned with a most heavenly California caviar. It’s definitely a special occasion pasta dish.

Lemon Butter Spaghetti Tower with Caviar Recipe

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Wild Mushrooms

Wild Mushrooms

Wild Mushroom Still Life

There was absolutely no way I could resist the fantastic selection of exotic mushrooms for sale at the Torrance Farmers Market. Chanterelles, Black Trumpets, Cordycep Militaris, Chestnut Royale, Wood Ear, Persimmon Enoki and Blue Foots to name a few… I paired them with Pink Peppercorns from my neighborhood trees to create a mysterious and colorful Wild Mushroom Still Life. Due to their psychedelic deep lilac colored stems, the Blue Foots just had to take center stage.

The Mushrooms

blue

  • blue foot (pied bleu) – highly perfumed aroma and flavor, cook before eating

gold

  • chanterelles – nutty with a fruity aroma
  • cordeycep militaris – savory earthy-nutty flavor
  • persimmon enoki  – impossibly fruity!

black

  • black trumpet – buttery woodsy smoky flavor
  • chestnut royale – porous texture absorbs other flavors (like butter) well
  • wood ear – crunchy gelatinous texture

After the photoshoot, what did I do with all those various wild mushrooms?

Sautéed Branzino with Cordycep Mushrooms

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