The June Easy Reader Beach Magazine

by Lynne on September 1, 2010

Post image for The June Easy Reader Beach Magazine

June Beach 2010

Cook & Be Merry in the June 2010 issue of the Easy Reader Beach Magazine was devoted to Summer Salads. I showcased the luscious Fiesta Fruit and Avocado Salad from Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms, and my very favorite and difficult to photograph Potato and Green Bean Salad with Goat Cheese Dressing. Also included was a recipe for these amazing Orange Chile Croutons that could be used with my salad. It was still cold outside, usual Southern California June weather, but I wanted to present recipes that could be used when it finally warmed up and we fired up the grill. Little did I know that it wouldn’t warm up at all, except for a couple days at the end of August. Oh well.


The reason I am now posting about the June Beach Magazine is that the dish I made today, and was going to photograph, was a dismal failure. So I had to dig up something else to post about. I was going to write about some Crispy-Coated Oysters with a Remoulade Sauce. I didn’t want to make massive amounts of oysters, so I bought the jarred ones in the iced seafood section. The jar was 8 ounces, so I figured there would be 7 or 8 oysters. Wrong. There were 4 huge egg-sized humungoes. I already had my flour, beaten egg and panko in bowls, so I decided to slice each oyster into three pieces. Bad move. They were already slimy to begin with, but after slicing they were just disgusting. But I persevered and got them all breaded. I browned them in olive oil and they really looked nice and golden. I had made the Remoulade the night before, so I was ready to give them a taste. Well, I couldn’t get past their texture to actually taste them. Cooking them had not eradicated their slime-iness. I didn’t even get out my camera.

The moral of the story is: one can have gone to culinary school, but that doesn’t mean anything. Failures still happen.

One of my commenters for the Twirly Lemon Cookies post said they wished they could have seen me in my first chef’s coat. I found some photos from that time period that were taken of my class at a banquet we cooked for a hundred people. This photo actually appeared on the front of the UCLA Class Catalog the next semester. Our banquet had been a great success and we were all very happy. I’ll be posting about that class in the future. I am in the front row on the far left.

First Chef's Coat

Well, since I’ve got you here, my captive audience, I might as well show you what my living room looks like. Those are my cookbooks. With all that reference you would think I could come up with a recipe for oysters that works. lol.

My living Room

I have some interesting things to post about coming up. September is going to be a busy month. I recently went to Ford’s Filling Station, Ben Ford’s restaurant. He’s Harrison Ford’s son and he was at Campanile for a while when I was doing my cooking internship there. His food is incredible.

Sunday, September 12, I’ll be at Rosti Tuscan Kitchen in Encino for a pizza making contest.

Saturday, September 25, is the Viking Food Blogger Boot Camp in Baldwin Park put on by Patti Londre of Worth the Whisk.

Sunday, September 26, is the Lobster Festival at the Seaside Lagoon in Redondo Beach.

And somewhere in there I’m going to be eating, interviewing and photographing at the Porto Fino Hotel’s signature restaurant, Baleen, in Redondo Beach.

So I guess one failure isn’t the end of the world.

{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

Monet September 1, 2010 at 9:56 pm

So I loved seeing you…and all of your books! What a gorgeous woman and room! Congratulations on being featured in the Easy Reader Beach Magazine…that is so exciting and very well deserved. I’m sorry your dish today was a failure, but I’m glad we ended up with this post in the end!

Grapefruit September 1, 2010 at 10:43 pm

*All* of those are cookbooks? Wow! Love your living room 🙂
Congrats on getting featured !

Nuts about food September 2, 2010 at 12:18 am

I certainly do not thrive on other people’s failures, but it does make an amateur like me feel better to know that even the professionals sometimes meet obstacles in the kitchen. Great work for the magazine (your potato string bean salad looks great, however I understand…I had a tough time photographing the one I posted about. Once again I am an amateur compared to you). And that is a great picture of you and your class. All the big, exciting steps you took when you were already at an age when many settle are still of great inspiration to me and make we want to grow and experiment and put myself out there every day. Thanks

Patti at Camp Blogaway September 2, 2010 at 9:08 am

Well done as always, and THANK YOU for the shout out for Camp Blogaway coming up, looking forward to seeing you again. Now go totally rock that pizza contest.

polwig September 2, 2010 at 9:32 pm

Congratulations on your features. As for oysters I guess we should all be reminded that even food network has something called a “test kitchen” when they play around with food, sometimes it works out sometimes it does not. At least by the time it hits our plate it has gone through the process. I love your picture btw.

Lentil Breakdown September 3, 2010 at 1:54 pm

I like an honest, humble person almost as much as I like a great cook (but it’s a real toss-up).

Nancy@acommunaltable September 6, 2010 at 7:48 pm

Hi Lynne!!!

Hey, remember the saying “if you don’t fail occasionally you aren’t cooking!!” LOVED the spread in the Easy Reader Beach Magazine!!

Seaside Lagoon?? Geez, I remember going there a LOT as a kid!!!

Looking forward to seeing you on the 25th – it’s going to be so much fun!!!

Kim at Rustic Garden Bistro September 7, 2010 at 12:55 pm

Looks like we’ll be going to some of the same places this month. 🙂

Thanks for posting about a “failure.” It’s kinda refreshing, actually. Loved the class photo, too! And your living room? WOW – Really, you have that many cookbooks?! I assume you’re also the piano player in the house?

[K]

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