O is for Osteria and M is for Mozza.

Brace yourself friends, after reading this post, you may find yourself salivating, drooling at the corners of your mouth and/or hungry. You may also wish to sue me for taunting and teasing, but let's hope that's not the case. And being that I am a legal professional, I'm confident that taunting and teasing is not a felony or misdemeanor, but you take that up with California statutes.

If you follow Madame Munchies you are aware of the "list". This isn't just any list, it's my restaurant list, which I started well over a year ago. It's where I keep track of restaurants I want to try out and last night I crossed Osteria Mozza off that list. I hate to admit that it's been sitting on that list, dusty, like an old pair of shoes, but it wasn't for not. This joint is so popular, getting a reservation is like going to war.

The benefits of going to OM with a party of seven is getting to taste a variety of dishes and we definitely ordered a larger variety of dishes, some of which will be pictured but I may not write about. I will focus on the dishes I ordered for time management's sake.

To start, I ordered the red endive, fennel and parmigiano reggiano salad with an anchovy-date dressing. It's the stacked salad pictured above. A beautiful presentation, the crunchy endive was layered with paper thin slices of sweet fennel and rectangles of a nutty parmigiano.

Prior to visiting OM, I had spent a considerable amount of time studying the menu and scheming exactly what I would like to order and when I scrolled to the pasta section, I knew I wanted to try the gnocchi with duck ragu. The last place I had gnocchi was at Angeli Caffe and I had a hard time believing that OM's gnocchi would surpass my expectations. The gnocchi were miniature and were lovingly dressed with a rich, comforting duck ragu. The gnocchi weren't necessarily better, they were just different. The best way to describe them is ultra-potato-ey. They were hearty, but not heavy.

The sauteed broccolini with vinegar and chiles were addictive. Tart, bright flavors with a splash of heat, easily devoured by all sitting at the table. For dessert, I had to go with the bombolini with a huckleberry marmalade and vanilla gelato on top of a lemon mascarpone cream. The bombolini are fried donuts tossed with sugar. The warm fritters of dough with the tangy huckleberries and lemon mascarpone were amazing.

It was definitely a night to remember, I'm looking forward to trying out the pizzeria next.

A Blissful Marriage of Eggplant and Cheese.

A couple of weekends ago, a girlfriend and I went to see a matinee of Sex and the City II. Guilty pleasure you could call it (I loved the series). Anyway, prior to the show we grabbed some grub to go from Buca di Beppo. I happen to think they do a fantastic eggplant parmesan and I thought to myself, "Self, have you ever made eggplant parmesan before?". I couldn't recall if I had taken on that challenge, so this week I took it on. The eggplant, cheese, tomatoes and I duked it out in the culinary ring, so to speak.

I did a little research online and pulled up a recipe for Eggplant Parmesan from Epicurious. With a rating of 4 forks, I had to give it a go. Mind you, I did not cook for 8 people, I cut the recipe in half and managed to put away several servings in my freezer. Not too sure how well it will hold up but I will find out soon friends.

All I can say about this recipe is LABOR INTENSIVE. This is not a recipe you just pull out of your hat on a weeknight (of course I made it on a weeknight, but that doesn't mean everyone will want to make this on a weeknight). It definitely required patience and time, but it was well worth the hard work and the wait! The eggplant slices were battered with a 3 step process: flour, egg and panko bread crumbs (which were seasoned with a little grated parmesan). I think the panko bread crumbs really took it a whole other level too. The sauce was simple - peeled and pureed roma tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, red chile pepper flakes and torn up fresh basil - simmered for about half an hour. The only downside was that I should've made the entire batch of sauce instead of only making half a batch. There just wasn't enough sauce for my liking. Lesson learned. Next time, if there's plenty of leftover sauce, I'll just freeze it for pasta or another dish. Regardless this recipe is fantastic and is a great dish for entertaining, especially if you have any vegetarians over for dinner. I would serve it with a simple green salad and maybe some roasted garlic bread.

Oh the weather outside ain't frightful.....

...really, it isn't. I mean, you may not think it's even Christmastime around here, but it is. And it's nearly 77 degrees. Los Angeles, man. What else can I say? And what better way to celebrate the season than to invite friends from The Ripple Effect over for some gaming, some laughing, and of course, some eating.

Tonight, I made a mixed green salad with a dijon balsamic viniagrette for a starter. Simple, yet delicious (it really is all about the dressing, after all). Marinated some minced shallots in a good balsamic vinegar with some salt and pepper. Whisked in a bit of dijon mustard and some finely grated Parmigiana (Grana from TJ's) and added some olive oil. The dress truly is the star in this performance, so I didn't add any further toppings or hoopla.

For the main course, I tried a new recipe - Braised Pork Ribs and Italian Sausage (sweet and hot). Braised with onions, peppers, basil, chili pepper flakes, white wine, whole Italian tomatoes and served over cooked pasta, it seemed to be a crown pleaser. The dish is topped off with crispy pancetta, sliced scallions, and some finely grated Parm. A good choice, say, if you're housebound as a result of a nasty blizzard, or just because in my case, you can't resist the pork.

And for the grand finale, a tribute to all desserts Italian in nature....tiramisu. Quite simply one of the easiest desserts to put together and yet it still has the "wow" factor when dinner guests take that first bite. I substituted Frangelico (hazelnut liquer) for the kahula (some recipes call for rum) and I think it worked out just fine. The only issue I've found with tiramisu recipes is that more often than not, you use more ladyfingers than the recipe calls for and you end up needing more of the espresso/liquer mixture for dipping. I'm glad I bought extra.

I hope you are able to take the time and spend it with loved ones, whether family or not. As the song says, "It's the most wonderful time of the year".....I know, I know, cliche. But it worked!!

Lupa.

On a recent trip to NYC to attend a Yankee's game with my dad, we jetted over to Lupa for a late lunch. Dad and I have been long time (okay perhaps semi-addicted) Food Network junkies. Over the years, we have gained appreciation for certain celebrity chefs and have had the privilege of visiting a few of their restaurants. We have visited Emeril's (fish house in Vegas), Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill in Vegas and Emeril's Delmonico's Steakhouse in Vegas. This time we visited Lupa, one of the many restaurants Mario Batali is a owner of and Lupa's focus is Roman cuisine, served familia-style. Located in the "Village" (Greenwich Village, for those who aren't so hip to the NYC lingo), Lupa is a small restaurant fitted with heavy wooden tables and a beautiful bar encased with blood red bricks. The menu offers a nice selection of antipasto, salads, soups, pasta courses and main courses including steaks, fish of the day, veal, chicken and pork.

Our neighbor seduced us with ordering the "special" appetizer - prosciutto croquettes. Spinach, ricotta encrusted with deep fried salty prosciutto, laid on a dot of spicy tomato sauce. They were to die for, I could've eaten a bowl of those little suckers. We shared the ricotta gnocchi with mild sausage, tagliatelle with chicken and olives and saltimbucco (a slab of pounded veal with a prosciutto and sage crust). The gnocchi was out of this world - they were like little pillows in my mouth, light, feather-like. Simply scrumptious. The saltimbucco was tasty, the warmth of the sage and the saltiness of the prosciutto complimented one another and the taglieatelle was simple and fresh.

One thing my dad and I noticed throughout all the dishes was attention to the simplicity of the flavors - the chef really let the ingredients speak for themselves. It was almost as if, they were restraining themselves from "showing off". Often Italian restaurants attempt to satisfy diners with exuberant, complex sauces and it was a pleasant surprise to enjoy not only the simplicity of the sauces but the divinity of homemade pastas.

Of course, then there was the dessert menu. Repeatedly, we saw the same dessert coming out of the kitchen, Lupa Tartufo (truffle). Dad ordered that one and I ordered the Black Pepper Panna Cotta with Stone Fruit. Now here's the catch, now I know why everyone in that stinkin' restaurant ordered the huge chocolate truffle sitting on a warm chocolate sauce, because it was so delicious and yet wasn't overwhemlingly rich. Inside its shell, there was ice cream, hazelnuts, truffle and cherries. You should probably wipe your mouth right about now. The panna cotta was creamy and spicy, very refreshing. Lupa was a real treat, I look forward to visiting some of the other restaurants Batali is affiliated with....one day.