20 Monday Feb 2012
Posted in Table Scraps
As much as I love writing here–and have been eating a ridiculous amount of things lately–Named for a Food is taking a break while I focus on work and school. You know, the important things I’ve got going on.
Do please keep up with me on Twitter, and you can always find me, my design work, and more ways to stalk me on my website.
Sincerely yours,
Corianda
27 Tuesday Dec 2011
Posted in exploring la, food porn, food reviews, restaurant reviews
Tags
corianda dimes, corianda dimes blog, exploring LA, fire, ftw, k-town, korea town, korean bbq, meat, tentacles
A crazy eatery in this post earned itself the following shiny awards:
[Insert apology and excuse for a month’s absence from blogging.] And now we can move on.
A few “firsts” happened in December, including my first dim sum and my first Korean BBQ, thanks to encouragement from The Minty and a friend with great recommendations in my HIP club at USC.
One benefit of USC’s location is a proximity to K-Town, and its diversity of business, from restaurants to pharmacies to a store called, directly, “PUPPIES!!!” Not to make an awkward segue into eating, but our little group hopped in the car and headed to Hae Jang Chon Korean BBQ on 6th street.
Having arrived at around 5:30, we had to valet our car. In a strip mall. That should have been the first warning, but we sidled up and accepted our 30 minute wait.
Waiting 30 minutes when you haven’t eaten all day is bad. Waiting 30 minutes in front of a façade actively pumping out meat fumes is pretty much torture (but more on that smell later).
Finally, after much salivating and glaring at other parties, we were sat and my friend explained how it worked: you sit. They bring out little bowls of sides, and then you order massive bowls of raw meat. They throw it on a smoking hot plate in front of you, you cook it up, and shove that meat in your face to the point of explosion.
21 Monday Nov 2011
Posted in food porn, recipe breakdown
Tags
beet and goat cheese crostini, beet crostini, corianda dimes, corianda dimes blog, exploring, exploring LA, farmer's market, goat cheese and beets, happy roommates, named for a food, recipe breakdown, roast beets, roasted acorn squash, safely open acorn squash, silver lake farmer's market
It was a dark and stormy afternoon. The raindrops crashed against the windshield with determination as she took a new way home, fumbling with the GPS and cursing traffic. She turned a corner, peering in the darkness- and there it was. She swerved violently into the parking lot just in time. Taking a deep breath, she scrambled for her purse and reached into the backseat, readying herself. Because there, across the dimly lit and muddied street, was…A FARMER’S MARKET.
I hate when farmer’s markets sneak up on you. There you are, minding your own business trying to get home from Silverlake, and BLAMMO, stealth farmer’s market attacks you. And then lo and behold, you have $15 in cash and a WholeFoods shopping bag in your trunk. Always gets me.
This time, $15 got me some tomatoes, an acorn squash, eggs, beets and by way of haggling, a little container of goat cheese. I then proceeded to make the most yummy impromptu dinner I’ve made in a long while: roast beet, goat cheese and rosemary crostinis.
The beets turned out to be striped and gorgeous. I roasted them in the oven with some rosemary, sea salt and olive oil. I then took them out, scraped off the skin and sliced them up while slices of crusty brown bread toasted up. Slather on some goat cheese, top with pretty beets, and voila! Tasty!
The acorn squash was the next night’s meal. I was warned by the nice lady at the farmer’s market to “be careful opening that acorn squash,” so I attempted to follow these nice instructionsfrom CHOW.
That led to me painfully sawing away at the husk for twenty minutes. At which point the boyfriend wandered into kitchen, and hacked it open in five seconds. Sheesh.
The beautiful things were doused in brown sugar and butter, and roasted for about an hour at 400 degrees. The seeds drizzled in olive oil and salt lasted about fifteen minutes out of the oven.
So, without further ado, a nice little recipe breakdown:
Anything called a "crostini" is automatic fancy-dom. Or foodie-BS.
My friends were excited when they came home from class and I had their apartment smelling like rosemary goodness.
Doin' some splorin' to find these farmer's markets.
09 Wednesday Nov 2011
Posted in food reviews, Table Scraps
Tags
caroline on crack, corianda blog, corianda dimes, corianda dimes blog, estarLA, exploring LA, food, food reviews, food studies research, Hakata Ramen Shin-Sen-Gum, la food bloggers, named for a food, Next Door Lounge Hollywood, ramen little tokyo, The Minty
Restaurants in this post earned the following shiny badges:
As I mentioned, I have three food-related projects this semester. Yeah, I’m hacking college. One is a big ol’ research project.
Here’s the rundown (in less than professional diction): there is a lot of buzz of people getting tired of celebrity chefs and food TV. LA foodies can be highly critical of sell-outs and fakers, and it’s easy to get caught up in that. But is that really the case for the rest of America, and most importantly, the middle-aged moms filling up America’s grocery carts who have the most buying power?
The research will be done at the end of the semester, so stay tuned. Part of my research is a massive survey of that target demographic (thanks for taking it, family friends), but the other part is interviewing LA food bloggers to serve as a contrast. And naturally, when interviewing food bloggers, you eat and drink wherever they recommend. Thanks to everyone who’s helped out (Lucy & Bill).
The lovely EstarLA sent me to the Next Door Lounge where we hit up happy hour, noshed on fried spaghetti and were served up by bartender Joseph Brooke. No, I didn’t write his name down. I literally googled “Next Door Lounge hot bartender.” (To my credit, his “hotness” credentials, both physical and by winning many competitions, have been officially recognized by Caroline on Crack. Who counts as an official judge on these matters.) I had a cold and my senses were dulled, but the drinks were tasty. And EstarLA is an awesome happy hour buddy.
And then this weekend, TheMinty and I hit up Hakata Ramen Shin-Sen-Gumi, which I’m pretty sure is Japanese for “entirely too many choices, so knock yourself out.” I’m not kidding:
Hakata Ramen, fun fact, is known for customization. The Minty let me know that sometimes this just means firmness of noodles, but this place let you choose firmness of noodles, “oiliness,” strength of broth, and then a cornucopia of extra toppings that come on the side. It’s like the Build-A-Bear of Ramen.
We went a little crazier than the average patron, ordering a mess of toppings from mushrooms and fried pig ear to won tons and miso butter, because there was no way I was passing up “Miso Butter” on a menu.
Maybe ramen snobs will disagree with me, especially when Daikokuya is right across the street, but I had a blast picking whatever my heart desired. Thanks again to all you awesome bloggers. I want to be you when I grow up.
THE BREAKDOWN:
Ramen = Japanese for delicious noodles.
A discovery! I’ll be heading back to Build-A-Bear Ramen soon.
Conversations with awesome people, delicious drinks, tasty noodles. All amazing.
Happy hour is acceptable if it’s for research purposes.
//////////////////////
Next Door Lounge • 1154 North Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90038-1205 • (323) 465-5505
Hakata Ramen Shin-Sen-Gumi • 132 S Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90013 • (213) 687-7108
08 Tuesday Nov 2011
Posted in Table Scraps
Tags
corianda dimes, food nations, food studies, the thesis, usc annenberg, usc libraries, usc libraries food, warren belasco food nations
Discoveries in USC libraries
I’m waist-deep in projects this semester, having found an astounding love for the field of Food Studies. Seriously. You can go to graduate school for Food Studies or Gastronomy. My future MBA is quaking in its sensible, better-idea boots.
I discovered the book Food Nations in the Doheney Library, because when navigating the creepy maze of Doheney’s stacks, “discover” or “unearth” are appropriate verbs. The book is a collection of essays about food, but rather than poignant memoirs of a childhood in the kitchen, these essays are hard-hitting academic discourses. “Rituals of Pleasure in the Land of Treasures: Wine Consumption and the Making of French Identity in the Late Nineteenth Century.” “Inventing Baby Food: Gerber and the Discourse of Infancy in the United States.” “Industrial Tortillas and Folkloric Pepsi: The Nutritional Consequences of Hybrid Cuisines in Mexico.”
These essays are fascinating cultural, economic and social explorations, centered around the very real role food plays in these arenas. The introduction by Warren Belasco does more to explain this academic phenomena than I can properly summarize here, providing a sweeping history of how food is integral to our existence, and the methods in which academia and policy address it.
I’m waiting for the semester to be over to delve back into all these books I can’t read for sake of time and research focus. In the mean time, if anyone has great resources on war-time food rationing, food aid to Asia and the green revolution, or McDonald’s and Coca Cola international expansion, holla atcha girl.
07 Friday Oct 2011
Posted in the thesis
Tags
bill esparza, effect of the calorie in us history, felix gutierrez research, food history, imperialism of the calorie, invention of the calorie, nutrients of butter, vintage recipes, wilbur atwater
As of last week, I was struggling with ideas and trying to make a thorough research survey that wasn’t 20 minutes and a lifetime long. In the mean time? I got to pick the brain of Bill Esparza (nothing says “cool” like scribbling notes over a cocktail), have my survey dissected by my whole class, touch base with “Uncle” Felix Gutierrez (an amazing USC professor handling his own bundle of historical research work) and go to Disneyland.
That last one was particularly important to my academic progress. Obviously.
What I’ve discovered is that while I’m a PR major and decidedly not a History nor Politics nor International Relations nor anything that will remotely help me with my research, food history is something I’m interested in tackling.
As far as the research itself, I pointed last week to the Imperialism of the Calorie article by Nick Cullather. It’s an absolutely fascinating read, and outlines the major paradigm shifts, culturally and politically, introduced by Mr. Wilbur O. Atwater and his concept of measuring energy in foods (and penchant for sealing students into air-tight basement chambers)
While we can see the legacy of these shifts today in the form of justifying aid to other countries, for example, what I continue to find fascinating is just how much our relationship with the calorie has changed. Thanks to Atwater, we were suddenly able to not only categorize our food based on visible and tactile characteristics, but rank it in value. In the 19th c, that meant wheat, potatoes, meat and milk take home the gold, while vegetables play second fiddle, if they play at all.
This is quaintly illustrated by Mrs. J. Hoodless’ 1998 textbook, Project Gutenberg’s Public School Domestic Science, a lovely how-to for all young women looking to understand nutrition and recipes. Mrs. Hoodless outlines the basic applications of Atwater’s guides to various foods, instructs which are the best and worst foods to prepare, and then offers recipes for even the most base home cook to prepare.
“Butter will not support life when taken alone, but with other foods is highly nutritious and digestible,” instructs Mrs. Hoodless. However, “Cucumbers are neither wholesome nor digestible.”
30 Friday Sep 2011
Posted in design, Table Scraps
Tags
academic, food history research, history of the cheeseburger, imperialism of the calorie, thesis project, vintage food ad, vintage food poster
As I posted before, I’m in the midst of three big projects this year. My PR research project is all figured out, so check that one of off my panic list.
My other project is proving difficult- as it should! What began as an expose of super-foods morphed into a statement of our inverted class diets (what was once “peasant food”–veggies, no meat–is now a luxury). Then, a bacon cheeseburger and some new-Nordic cuisine got involved, and then I had a bazillion more ideas gumming up the works. And it doesn’t help that every vintage ad, illustration, or cookbook sets me back an hour while I explore. (See below for some must-read tidbits). Continue reading »
23 Friday Sep 2011
Posted in Table Scraps
Tags
bacon cheeseburger, celebrity chef research, food history, food policy, internships, multimedia projects, pr research, usc research projects
These are my snazzy temporary business cards, that I whipped together in ten minutes, relying entirely on good font choices.
“But Corianda,” you ask, “don’t you have a fantastic new internship that is allowing you to fulfill all your dreams of meeting your food and chef idols and look at food pictures online all day? Aren’t they giving you business cards?”
Yes, and yes– they just haven’t come yet. In the interest of good business protocol, I can’t gush online about the absolutely incredible people and places I get to experience (though I will say I slightly embarrassed myself last night by not being able to spell an ingredient a certain French chef dictated to me. Need to work on that).
So why do I need business cards? Because this afternoon I’m heading to Techmunch, and I’m going to need to network my butt off, because my grade in a PR class depends on food bloggers. Good plan, eh?
Here’s why: I have three major semester-long projects this year, and I’ve opted to make all three food-related. I’ll be documenting my progress here, with the inkling of a hope that someone may read it and help me out, suggesting new resources and the like. My year-long project is currently revolving around the idea of food history through the lens of the bacon cheeseburger, and I’m not posting anything further than that until I get some feedback and I’m positive I’m willing to stand by such an absurd statement. So deal with it. In the meantime, here’s my PR research project:
16 Friday Sep 2011
Posted in recipe breakdown
A recipe in this post earned itself the following shiny badges:
Being expected to share cooking duties with someone is a challenging experience. Especially when that someone can actually cook super tasty things, and has a much lower tolerance for eating crap just because you decided to try something new.
So when you spend an hour cooking something that he readily proclaims is delicious, IT’S LIKE FOURTH OF FREAKIN’ JULY. On a weekday no less!
What is this miracle dish you managed to not ruin, you ask? Chicken Marsala, from a recipe penned by the ever-popular Emeril (or his team of test-kitchen minions), even though I didn’t have about half of the ingredients and I used a big-ass jug of cabernet instead of marsala wine, because, to be honest, what’s the point of paying to cook with wine if you can’t drink it at the same time (see “classy”). Without further ado: The Best Recipe for Convincing Your Boyfriend He Didn’t Make A Mistake Sharing A Kitchen With You, with my helpful notes in italics.
28 Sunday Aug 2011
Posted in Table Scraps
Tags
academic thesis, bakespace.com, food history, foursquare lists, iml honors program, life, social media, why to use google plus
Just when I got on a roll here (OK, updated more than once in a week), life gets in the way. In the grand scheme of things, that’s better than a hurricane, family emergency, or stubborn cow getting in the way, but it means less time blogging here.
What’s taking up my life?
1. Painting again, which is fantastic. I’m going to be serious this semester, blocking out two hours a week to just paint. If that means the blog struggles, so be it.
2. A new internship, which I can’t disclose yet but I am ecstatic about. The good? It’s heavily food and internet related, aka, kind of a dream job. The bad (for my blog)? Policies mean while I’ll be working with great new food people/places/things, I won’t be able to blog about most of my brilliant adventures. Totes worth it.
3. School started, huzzah! The most important things this year will be a giant research project, and another giant project for my honors program at the IML. Both will involve food. Want a sneak preview that has [major] technical glitches and is going to be changed entirely by the end of the year? Here ya go.
4. Various blogging, design projects, and other misc. paying the bills nonsense. Hear my musings about social media over at Bright Oak and join awesome culinary convos at BakeSpace.com. Some recent gems:
