La Niña or Something Wicked This Way Comes

Well the sun finally came out yesterday after almost a month of cold, foggy and drizzly weather.
Why is this notable? 
Because after the coldest summer on record I was looking forward to the typically mild months of September and October.
Not, this year it seems.
Except for one super hot week in September, the last two months have been unusually cold and now I know why.

The Super La Nina and the Coming Winter
La Nina is the lesser-known colder sister of El Nino. La Nina chills the waters of the tropical Pacific Ocean, and in turn cools the entire planet for one to two years or more. This chilling has the potential to bring bone-numbing cold to many parts of the world for this and the following winter.
Oh...lucky us, not only do we get La Nina we get a special La Nina!
This La Nina appears to be special, at least so far. It is well on its way to being the strongest of these events since the super La Nina of 1955-1956. During that powerful La Nina that lasted two years, the global average temperature fell nearly one degree Fahrenheit from 1953 to 1956.

Those of us who are affected by seasonal affective disorder, take note.
Things might get real cold.
Last Sunday was so drizzly and dreary that I opted for the next best thing to a winter holiday on a sunny beach for cheering me up, yes you guessed it, cooking a yummy dinner.
(Admittedly, I was highly inspired by the fabulous meals prepared by Faux Fuchsia and Tabitha)
So I went to my usual source for all things wonderful in the kitchen.

(Yes peeps, I was cooking recipes from these books long before that silly girl from that movie blogged about them. My books date to 1983)
Well anyway, I thought that I would make a Coq au Vin, but all the wine and brandy and bacon seemed too heavy so I decided on Poulet Poché Au Vin Blanc or Coq au Vin lite, if you will.
Super easy, super fast, super healthy
Here's the recipe (actually out of Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 2)

Grab your big (blue) Le Creuset cocotte and sauté your basic mirepoix ( 2 carrots, 3 stalks of celery, 1 onion, chopped or julienned) in 3 tablespoons of butter....or for a lighter version use chicken stock instead of butter...but what's the point of that.
Add an already cut frying chicken 2 1/2 lbs (I used the organic, no growth hormone kind from Trader Joe's) and cook for 10 minutes turning once.
Pour in 1 1/2 cups of white wine or dry white vermouth (I used vermouth and saved the wine for drinking.  Note: vermouth is also great to cook with and less expensive than wine...and available for your martinis)
Add enough chicken stock to barely cover the chicken.
Add a bouquet garni of parsley, thyme and bay leaf.
Cover and cook either in a 350 degree oven or on top of the stove for 25-30 minutes.
(I served it with asparagus and hot french bread, but you might want to serve it over rice)

For a super easy dessert
Apple and Berry Compote (my recipe)
Take left over granny smith apples from the fridge and peel, core and cut them into chunks.
Lightly poach in a small amount of water with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Add dried cranberries and pomegranate seeds or dried berries of your choice.
Cook for about 10 minutes or until apples begin to soften but aren't mushy.
Serve warm with low carb vanilla ice cream.

Unfortunately, after all this effort I didn't have the energy to plate it artfully and photograph it for BHB.
You'll just have to take my word that it looked yummy and tasted delicious, because it did.
So brace yourself for a cold winter
This La Nina is coming on very fast and very strong. Already it is colder than the six coldest La Ninas of the last 60 years when they were at a similar stage of development.

October Sunday Chez BHB

 

Piper Heidsieck Champagne

and 

Pumpkin Muffins
and
1500 blog posts

Around Town - Another Week Of Dine LA

Bad economic news, continued recession, growing unemployment
how does the restaurant business in Los Angeles deal with all of this?
Dine La restaurant week, of course.

What's the idea behind dineLA Restaurant Week?
dineLA and dineLA Restaurant Week were created with two goals in mind-driving business for our local restaurant community; and building awareness for Los Angeles as one of the premier dining cities in the world.

and

What are restaurants offering during dineLA Restaurant Week?
Participating restaurants will opt into one of three dining categories and present a specially priced three-course meal for lunch and/or dinner. Diners will be able to choose from three choices for each course including appetizer, entrée and dessert.

So last week's dine LA event, with special prices, was an opportunity for me to try two new restaurants, and so I did.
Both were full, obviously the dineLA concept was working.

Wolfgang's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills

I liked both my dinner and the ambiance at Wolfgang's steakhouse, with no nonsense food and a chi-chi Beverly Hills crowd....was that Mickey Rourke in the hat? Perhaps the best thing about Wolfgang's was the fact that it was on Canon Drive, an easy 2 block walk from my office.

Upstairs 2 in West Los Angeles

Upstairs 2, was the opposite of the platinum triangle located Wolfgang's.

A wine bar situated above a warehouse wine business, The Wine House, located in an industrial area next to the 405 freeway, it was a foodie retreat with delicious food and an incredible wine by the glass menu. It may just become my new favorite hang out.

The restaurant business is huge in Los Angeles, and it employs a lot of people...yes, many of them wanna be actors. I'm very glad to see that DineLA is having a positive influence on local business.

This city has weathered the recession fairly well in spite of the real estate meltdown and all of the economic problems with the State of California. It makes me happy to know that LA isn't going the way of Detroit.