Little Dom’s…Again! {Brunch}

I’m a tofu-eating, yoga-practicing, toms-wearing, brunch-going twenty something living in Hollywoodland. I’ve become my own worst nightmare. My name is Shannon, and I am so LA.

Maybe it’s true. Maybe the sunshine does make us less cynical than our eastern counterparts (I still love you more, NY!). But how cynical can you really be on a sunshiney Sunday morning enjoying eggs benedict with your slightly woozy friends from the previous night’s debaucherous adventures? (life lesson learned: Jameson is stronger than beer.)

Enter the wonderful meal mashup that is brunch. I was particularly hyped when I found out that Little Dom’s in lovely Los Feliz served brunch, so duh, I dragged some (slightly hungover) friends to recuperate over some coffee and breakfast potatoes.

Little Dom’s
www.littledoms.com
2128 Hillhurst Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 661-0055

The Rating: 

The Quick and Dirty:

The wait wasn’t too bad during prime brunch time (maybe 20 minutes or so?). The coffee? Strong enough to kick that headache. The eggs benedict need to become a regular menu item, because they were perfection. For an Italian restaurant, the pizza is just ok (props for the homemade sausage though). No brunch is complete without pancakes, and it’s really hard to f those up, especially when they have blueberries and ricotta cheese in them. Yum.

The Eats:

{roasted garlic potatoes}

{bacon eggs benedict on focaccia}

{italian sausage pizza}

{ricotta blueberry pancakes}

Osteria Mamma {Mambo Italiano}

Saying I’m picky about my Italian food is like saying I like things neat. A gross understatement, at best. I have my (very) short list of go-to Italian restaurants in this town (just two, to be exact) and Osteria Mamma sits comfortably on par with them.

{genius. a light inside the check.}

 Osteria Mamma
www.osteriamamma.com
5730 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 284-7060

The Rating:

The Quick and Dirty:

MUCH easier to get a res at than the other Osteria a few blocks west. Cozy, lively, tasty. Splurge on the pink sauce pappardelle (you can go to the gym tomorrow). Located just a bit north of Larchmont proper. Street parking isn’t too bad. Gorgeous wall of wine. Wouldn’t get the pizza again. Friendly service. Amazing bread and slightly spicy red sauce dip. On my short list because it doesn’t try too hard. Italian is about using the best of the best simple ingredients and recipes. There’s no room for showyness here. 4 cupcake rating simply for the pappardelle.

The Eats:

Yum.

{pappardelle al fumo. pink sauce, pancetta, scarmorza cheese & oregano}

{lauriano pizza. tomato sauce, mozzarella, parma prosciutto, ricotta, arugula}

{ravioli a scetta. spinach & ricotta cheese ravioli}

The Lazy Ox Canteen [Tapas Style]

Having had Lazy Ox on my bucket list for some time, I was thrilled when fellow foodie friends (and fiancees!) Tim and Sabrina wanted to try it too.

The Lazy Ox Canteen
www.lazyoxcanteen.com
241 South San Pedro

Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 626-5299

Continue reading

Mini Ricotta Cheesecake Cupcakes

First experiment from my cupcake-a-day calendar: Ricotta Cheesecake Cupcakes.  Oh.  Yes.

Having just bought new mini-cupcake pans, I decided to make minis instead of your standard sized cupcakes (also helped stretch the recipe further when I brought these in for my sugar-loving office of 45 people :) )  The recipe says it yields a dozen standard sized cupcakes.  I ended up with 48 minis.

Continue reading

Chicken and Ricotta Stuffed Bell Peppers

I had 2 gorgeous yellow bell peppers (add these to my list of impulse purchases at the farmer’s market) and decided to attempt stuffed bell peppers entirely sans-recipe.  I pulled together some ingredients I had around my kitchen and came up with this:

Ingredients
1/4 lb ground chicken
1/4 tsp dried basil
1 sprig oregano
1/2 cup ricotta
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
2 tbsp chopped italian parsley
2 bell peppers
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°.  Brown chicken on stovetop and add dried basil.  Toast oregano in a tiny bit of olive oil in pan.

Mix chicken, oregano, ricotta, toasted pine nuts and chopped italian parsley in large bowl.

Slice off tops of bell peppers, remove seeds and ribs.  Stuff peppers with chicken mixture, place in glass baking dish and cover with aluminum foil.  Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Ta-da!  The finished stuffed pepper:

Fresh oregano is a very potent herb.  A tidbit of info I wish I had considered before getting a little overzealous with the parsley and dried basil.  Over-seasoning aside, the ground chicken and ricotta mixed together is superb, not to mention, yellow bell peppers are nice and sweet.  Next time, I’m going with just one herb and not three so I don’t have to pick out the excessive parsley and oregano pieces:)