Pizza Catarina Sorrentina

Quite of the social media age is this Avanti pizza creation in fast paced real time.  Scanning a feed, an East Coast focused charmer of a post popped up.  One click brought me to Rozanne Gold’s Sorrento Lemon Pizza post.

 Lemon Pizza a la Huff Post Rozanne Gold

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rozanne-gold/lemon-pizza-keste_b_1966686.html

Glance of interest lead to implementation thoughts.  Let’s see, Ms. Catherine is plying us w/ the bounty of her small but profoundly prolific sour green lemon tree, I’m chock full of African purple basil leaves and blossoms, smoking organic mozzarella cheese in Bourbon soaked oak & chamomile is perpetually on my production list.  Pizza crusts, well, Avanti is known all over Orange County for our artisan organic whole grain Roman style pizzas so…..

The stage is set w/ the freshest ingredients.  We added a touch of our newest creation, fermented sea salt grapefruit reduction.

Topped w/ some roasted extra HOT chilies from South Coast Farms in San Juan Capistrano

Interestingly enough our Ingardia Produce rep Jon turned up w/ some terrific samples of fennel pollen and caviar limes just as we focused in on lemons and pizza.  Well, infusing an extra virgin olive oil w/ these flavors was a natural progression

These babies are as gorgeous as they are exotic.  Citrus flavor Pop Pops

How amazingly the caviar limes pop out & dance w/ flavor.  In they go w/ the fennel pollen to infuse fragrance and flavor into extra virgin olive oil.  

And there we have it, the Catarina Sorrentina Pizza inspired by the culinary creativity of our buddies on the East Coast & from our California garden fresh tool box.  Come taste our Avanti Cafe flavors in real time.

Eating Healthy & Delicious is a Win Win Win Situation!

Eat Live & Party Well 

As we say, eat w/ us several times a week and it’s likely you’ll become healthier than you already are!  And your taste buds will love every minute of it too. How many restaurants can legitimately make that claim !?!

Blog Post by Chef Mark Cleveland

Chef / Owner Avanti Cafe

Avanti Café  is a vegetarian & vegan friendly restaurant with many gluten free options [including our famous gluten free pizzas] in East Side Costa Mesa California [bordering Newport Beach].  Everything is custom made in house using the freshest ingredients.  We support local organic farms such as South Coast Farms in San Juan Capistrano using their fine produce in our dishes and hosting a Community Supported Agriculture site every Thursday.  We serve highest quality artisan beers in bottle and on tap, organic, biodynamic & sustainable wines, by the bottle and glass.  All of our desserts are made in house using organic whole grains, flours and sweeteners.  Always organic eggs & milk.  We make our own organic ricotta & feta cheeses in house and smoke organic mozzarella w/ bourbon soaked oak and chamomile.  Avanti is the longstanding leader in organic, sustainable, local, flavorful cuisine in Orange County.

www.avantinatural.com 

Avanti Café on facebook   AvantiCafe on Twitter & Pinterest

Positive Plate Timbale How-To

Last Monday, October 1, 2012, was a rousing evening in the Avanti Cafe dining room w/ our celebration of the Positive Plate special prix fixe dinner & blogger invitational.  The main course was a slow roasted organic tomato confit timbale w/ bucatini pasta.  To go from inspiration to plate is a tall task and an arousing tale.  Want to see it?  Here you go!

It first starts w/ the exotic bucatini pasta

Bucatini is a combo of spaghetti & macaroni.  As one of our more infamous former servers used to say, in his well played up British accent 'It's spaghetti w/ an 'ole in it!'

bucatini pasta

Then there are the tomatoes.  There is a laborious process in the French arsenal dubbed >> Tomatoes, peeled, seeded and juiced. This process involves flash blanching whole raw tomatoes in boiling water for just a few seconds, cooling in lightly iced water, slipping off the skins, cutting them in half along the horizon line and working the seeds and juice out of the exposed internal chambers.  Time consuming but worth the effort when tomatoes are peak season and full of flavor.  The seeds, pulp and juice are strained and reserved for another purpose, and the firm flesh is then slowly oven roasted in extra virgin olive oil to create an organic tomato confit

Tomato confit in season is so flavorful and delicious that we don't need to add much more than a simple compliment of flavor.  Our choice, butter sauteed cipolinni onions & capers

Since we are cheese makers at Avanti, we have an abundance of organic, high protein whey in our kitchen.  It's a nutritional powerhouse and we adore it.  Our custard vehicle for these timabales is a potato & whey creme for substance, flavor & volume

Combine the above w/ organic eggs, ladle into buttered custard cups, anoint w/ hot water in a bain marie, slide into a 325 low oven and voila :::>

Now we set timers, wish them well on their journey to supreme flavor & texture town and believe they have the brightest of futures and voila, un fois encore :::>

After they cool, they chill in the fridge overnight.  Meanwhile, we toss some extremely gorgeous oyster mushrooms w/ sake, nama shoyu, black pepper, garlic shallot oil and sliced shallots.  Leave to marinate overnight, then roast in a moderate 375 oven for a brief 10 mins to bake off in preparation for the dinner.

Now we are prepped for the Positive Plate Dinner.  The timables are unmolded then reheated to crispy perfection, the mushrooms get a final roast to sear & caramelize, additional tomatoes are blended w/ some of the whey potato mix and a dash of cream to form a flavorful sauce.  Our esteemed house made organic feta is shaped into quenelles, garnished w/ our Avanti signature Pink Green Gold & Black Provencal house made spice blend & allowed to cold air dry in form for 24 hours, and a fresh batch of Avanti spinach arugula pesto is made.

Et Voila

The Positive Plate Dinner Entree :: Organic slow roasted tomato & bucatini timbales w/ house made organic Provencal feta quenelle / spinach arugula pesto & sake roasted oyster mushrooms & shallot ::

Plated entree special photo by Anne Watson

Eating Healthy & Delicious is a Win Win Win Situation!

Eat Live & Party Well 

As we say, eat w/ us several times a week and it’s likely you’ll become healthier than you already are!  And your taste buds will love every minute of it too. How many restaurants can legitimately make that claim !?!

Blog Post by Chef Mark Cleveland

Chef / Owner Avanti Cafe

Avanti Café  is a vegetarian & vegan friendly restaurant with many gluten free options [including our famous gluten free pizzas] in East Side Costa Mesa California [bordering Newport Beach].  Everything is custom made in house using the freshest ingredients.  We support local organic farms such as South Coast Farms in San Juan Capistrano using their fine produce in our dishes and hosting a Community Supported Agriculture site every Thursday.  We serve highest quality artisan beers in bottle and on tap, organic, biodynamic & sustainable wines, by the bottle and glass.  All of our desserts are made in house using organic whole grains, flours and sweeteners.  Always organic eggs & milk.  We make our own organic ricotta & feta cheeses in house and smoke organic mozzarella w/ bourbon soaked oak and chamomile.  Avanti is the longstanding leader in organic, sustainable, local, flavorful cuisine in Orange County.

www.avantinatural.com 

Avanti Café on facebook   AvantiCafe on Twitter & Pinterest

Guava Jellin'

Originally from Brazil, Feijoa or pineapple guava as its known in southern California, is a cold hardy guava that blooms in May and is covered with tiny pink and crimson blossoms. By Fall, the plum-shaped fruits are ready to eat and are harvested when they fall to the ground. The easiest way to eat them is to simply scoop out the creamy flesh. We use them fresh in all kinds of dishes- they are vegetarian friendly after all- but by far my favorite use is for guava jelly.

Jelly recipes are a little more precise than my usual technique of ratios. Jellies do need more sugar than jams or marmalades. The extra sugar is required to get a proper set- the appropriate “jelly” texture if you will- not to soft and not too hard.

Fortunately the guava is pretty tart so it balances the sugar really well. 

Recipe

5 pounds of guavas

3 ½ cups of sugar

4 T lemon juice.

Wash your guavas, halve them and cover w/ 2 inches of water.  Bring to a boil and let simmer for at least 30 minutes. Your guavas will start to get a little mushy- that’s ok. Let them cool some and refrigerate overnight. Guava skins have a lot of natural pectin in them and this will help to extract all of that goodness. Pectin is a natural thickener- which is handy when it comes to firming up your jams and jellies.

Now its straining time. The easiest way to strain your guava juice is to get a nice thick layer of cheesecloth and line a mesh strainer w/ it and put it over a bowl or pitcher. Gently pour your juicy mix in the strainer and let slowly drain out, This may take a while as the juice has got quite pulpy at this point. When your fully strained, discard the pulp and measure out 6 cups of juice. You’ll have extra juice that you can throw in the freezer for next time. If freezing’s not up your alley you can also use that juice right away -add to smoothies, ice tea, or make a quick vinaigrette w/ it.

Mix your 6 cups of juice w/ your sugar and lemon juice in a large wide pan- the larger the better. This allows for maximum evaporation. Bring to a boil.

At this point your juice will look a little scary- kinda like dirty dishwater- don’t panic! You’ll be amazed at the transformation. Suddenly it will start turning a lovely shade of pinkish amber. As its boiling you’ll get some foamy stuff floating on top-you’ll want to skim this off. A slotted spoon works well.

The jelly should be cooked about 20-30 minutes. It will start to thicken and take on a viscous quality. To test if its’ done, put a small spoonful on a frozen plate.

Run your finger through it. If it is thick and wrinkles around the edges- it’s done.

Remove it from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Carefully pour into clean glass jars and cover. Refrigerate. It will keep for at least 2 months in the fridge. Although it probably won’t last that long.

If you don’t feel inclined to make it yourself- no worries. You can try it here @ Avanti Café- the best healthy vegetarian restaurant in Costa Mesa  in fact in all of Orange County!

Chef Tanya Fuqua

Smoking Organic Beets

Beets, like fennel, eggplant, mushrooms and yams are in that category the Japanese refer to as ‘suki/kirai’. You either love them or a big NOT. Personally, I’m out of that loop as I’ve never met a vegetable I didn’t like. And when beet season is in full swing I cannot get enough of their red radiant gently gelatinous texture and sweet Mother Earth flavors. We decided to smoke a batch of organic red and pink beets freshly picked from the South Coast Farms organic fields in San Juan Capistrano using our preferred simply designed, Camerons smokers.

 Our wood chip of choice these days is the bourbon soaked oak.

We like to add herbs as well, this time tarragon

& the ever favorite chamomile – one of the best smoky fragrances to our nostrils & taste buds.

Ahead of time, the beets were boiled in their skins, in a mixture of coffee and water w/ a pinch each of Sicilian sea salt and organic sugar. Cooled in that liquid, they were removed of their jackets in a process that turns the fingers a glorious pink, and has been known to reduce men in the kitchen to real tears of vanity if forced to pinken their digits w/out the protection of gloves. Side note: Real Men cook w/out gloves & sometimes end up w/ pink cuticles, but that is another blog topic all together. Next the newly and beautifully nude beets in all their glory were cut into sumptuous wedges and marinated in extra virgin olive oil. They were loaded into baking dishes, placed a top the smoking chips and herbs and slowly smoked over a low flame for just a short time. Next the red beets were tossed w/ a bit of warmed Avanti house made Berbere spice and allowed to marinate overnight. For service the red beets were warmed in the oven until just hot through. They were plated w/ organic pink smoked beets, organic citrus miso dressed romaine, slow roasted shishito peppers and garden herb blend of Spanish tarragon, lemon balm & basil.

Banish your fear of beets / be fearless and order new foods & unorthodox preparations / Don’t let words like vegan / vegetarian / organic / healthy frighten you. At Avanti we are always Healthy & Delicious! The year is 2012 & we are valiant citizens of the newest foodie centric location in CA, Orange County. Whether your reside in Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Irvine or beyond, make the short trek to 17th St, here in Costa Mesa and taste our Avanti flavors again and again.

As we say, eat w/ us several times a week and it’s likely you’ll become healthier than you already are! And your taste buds will love every minute of it too. How many restaurants can legitimately make that claim !?! mc

Jammin in August

It would be hard for me to choose, but stone fruits are always at the top of my favorites list. So of course this time of year is the best for making jam! I love both peach and nectarine jams and this summer the quality has been stellar. These techniques work for most stone fruits including peaches, apricots, nectarines and plums. It’s always better to work in small batches to ensure a good texture. I don’t work so much with recipes as I do w/ ratios. The general ratio for most of my jams is twice as much fruit to sugar. This is a lot lower in sugar than most standard jam recipes. That still adds enough sweetness but doesn’t cover the inherent flavor of the fruit, Your peach jam will actually taste like peaches instead of just sweet! Just add a little lemon juice and salt and you are good to go. Most home cooks shouldn’t cook more than 2 or 3 pounds of fruit at a time. Slice nectarines and toss w/ sugar and lemon juice. I’ve been using nectarines lately because I’m lazy. If you decide to use peaches you’ll need to peel them. Plums and apricots don’t require peeling either. The peels add nice color and a little extra texture to the jam! So pretty! Let them marinate at room temperature for a couple of hours- this will insure the sugars gets fully dissolved. Then refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, strain the slices away from their juice. You can do this by putting them in a colander set over a large bowl. Make sure they are drained very well. You should have a nice syrupy pool.

Find the largest/ widest pan you have. The whole idea is to get the syrup to cook as quickly as possible with maximum evaporation. This will help to keep the color and flavor as fresh as possible. Cook on very high heat until the syrup starts to form big, thick bubbles on top. Your going to reduce it by not quite half. Don’t let it get away from you- it will darken pretty quickly if your not paying attention. Remember- Safety First! It’s very hot, so don’t burn yourself.

When the syrup is nice and thick, add the nectarines and a generous pinch of salt. Stir everything together and bring back to a boil. Your going to cook long enough till the fruit starts to break down some. The jam will also start to thicken up and darken a little. Make sure to stir frequently- it likes to stick to the bottom of the pan.

When you feel its thick enough take it immediately off the heat. Let cool and refrigerate. If you know how to preserve in a jar- go ahead while its still hot. If not these jams lasts quite a while in the fridge. Cheers!

Avanti HOT Chili Garden Report Mid July 2012

The Avanti garden chili plants are gearing up for the HOT sunny days to come. So far the plants are small and compact. But the bird dung chili is the most prolific, covered in both small lumpy round green fruits and many flowers. The purina chili is ripening just two larger fruits & the cobra is tall yet somewhat bare.

The Chinese chili is ripening several very small fruits and working on some more buds and flowers. Very small plant w/ tiny leaves and flowers

Characteristically golden in color this aji chili has great form, and lots of flavor behind a medium heat. A second fruit is ripening.

With the ornamental ginger dominating the background, the chili patch prepares to explode into the HEAT of summertime growth.

Avanti Thoughts on Type Two Diabetes

Now that all the hoopla over Paula Deen’s diabetes drama has subsided, it’s a good time to talk rationally about the positive effects diet can have on type two diabetes. As a personal chef in from 1996 through 2005, I worked w/ cancer survivors, heart patients and folks diagnosed w/ type two diabetes on a regular basis. While cancer is by far the fiercer foe, with so many diseases the old adage ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ is strikingly apparent. And it is exceptionally true when it comes to type two diabetes. I was perpetually amazed when clients would inform me after only two or three weeks of cooking whole food menus for them that they had been taken off their meds by their doctors. It’s really pretty simple, eliminate white starches, greatly reduce sugar and when baking use hearty whole grain flours & nuts to lower the glycemic index, reduce saturated fats and eat more whole foods, vegetables, fruits and whole grains and beans. In the wake of the accusations that Paula Deen’s restaurant menus can precipitate type two diabetes in people w/ a disposition in that direction, take a look at the film ‘Forks Over Knives’ to see the miraculous benefits a whole foods diet can have on everyone’s overall health. And as we’ve always said, ‘Just eat healthy 50 to 90% of the time. That gives you plenty of time for your favorite fun food pleasures AND provides your body w/ all the nutrients it needs to keep running in peak condition. You wouldn’t run your car w/ out ever changing the oil. Treat your body better than you treat your car.’ We also firmly believe that we are one of the few restaurants out there that can honestly say that if you eat at Avanti more often, you’ll be healthier than you already are. See y’all soon at Avanti Café. Cheers, Mark http://www.forksoverknives.com/