I had a little bit of a debacle with some store bought pie crusts. Namely they started to tear when I was ready to use them. They were no good for pies or cakes with all the tears but I didn’t want them to go to waste.  I decided to rummage around our pantry and see what I could come up with. I threw together a few ingredients and ended up with something quite tasty

- 1 store bought frozen pie crust thawed and rolled out
- Nutella
- handful of butterscotch chips

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. With the pie crust rolled out generously spread Nutella all over crust leaving a little bit of room at the end so it’s easy to roll. Sprinkle butterscotch chips across Nutella covered crust. Just keep away from edges. Take one and of the pie crust and beginning rolling. Once you have a roll place seam side down on a nonstick pan or spray a pan with non-stick spray. Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Slice and serve and you’ll have an extra sweet treat.

1735 Vine Street
Los Angeles, CA 90028-5248
www.avalonhollywood.com

uWink
6801 Hollywood Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90028
www.uwink.com

Uwink is located in the Hollywood and Highland Complex and is a cool innovative restaurant that you can definitely have fun at.  Although the lighting is low, the overall feel is like the cool new trendy sports bar in town.  The purpose behind the restaurant is to allow you and your party to order food (at your own pace i might add) via touch screen monitors built into the tables. Not only is this extremely convenient since you don’t have to wait to be waited on, it also gives you all the options of adding and taking out whatever you want with your food AND drinks. So, if there are any mistakes, you have no one else to blame but your yourself.  The menu consists of your general all-American dishes: burgers, pastas etc.  The service itself is relatively quick — just be sure to request silverware when you order because yes, it is something you need to “order”. While you wait there are an assortment of games you and your friends can play against each other for free up to 1 hour. Once you’re finished each person can pay individually or for other people in their party right there at the table. Gives splitting the bill a whole new meaning. Speaking of the bill, the restaurant is moderately priced considering it’s Hollywood. Drinks run at about $2.75 and average cost of a dish is $11. The downside to uWink is simply, well the food ain’t THAT great. I went on a couple occassions and ordered different items both times and the food was just subpar. However, if you’re looking for a relatively fun and inexpensive experience to pass the time before heading down to Avalon then it’s a cool hangout. Overall grade: B

I had some leftover white beans from a dish I had made, not a whole lot left maybe about a little less than a cup. It was at the point where I had to either use them up or throw them out. I hate being wasteful when it comes to food so I definitely wanted to use the beans up but in what? Then I thought about creating a hummus. After all it’s just beans and olive oil and super super quick and easy to make. It’ll take all of 5 minutes of your life

- 1 cup white beans rinsed
- 1 small garlic clove (go as small as you can with this since 1 cup isn’t a whole lot in the end)
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste

In a food processor or blender drop in beans, garlic, salt, pepper and about 2 tbsp olive oil. Hit blend. Keep adding olive oil until you get a nice creamy consistency. Once you have the desired consistency take out into a bowl and serve with pita bread or chips. Quick, easy snack

- 1 round store bought pizza dough (I got mine from Trader Joe’s)
- 1 small can tomato paste (6 oz.)
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/4 cup torn basil leaves
- 1 cup store bought pre-sliced pepperoni (you can have more or less depending on how much pepperoni you like
- 1/4 cup sliced bell peppers
- 1/4 cup sliced onions
- 2 cups shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese
- salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You can buy pizza dough at any grocery store, although I like Trader Joe’s the best. I always see on Food Network them saying how they just ask for dough at their local pizza place. Now I’ve never done this nor have I seen anyone do this and frankly I find it kind of awkward. So if you share the same sentiments just stick to going to the grocery store. Roll out the pizza dough into a circle on a floured surface so it doesn’t stick. Make sure it’s even all around. Spray a pan with non-stick spray and place pizza dough on it. I like to bake the dough for a few minutes before I put toppings on it in order to ensure that the crust isn’t too soft especially in the middle where sometimes it tends to get soft. Place in oven for 4-5 minutes just to get the dough cooking.

While dough is in the oven, heat a small pot on medium heat. Add olive oil and garlic. Saute garlic for 1-2 minutes. Then add tomato paste and water and stir until it’s not super thick. Keep adding water to make it thinner if you wish. Add basil, salt and pepper and stir altogether and remove from heat.

Remove dough from oven. Ladle sauce all over pizza leaving enough room on the edges so that you can hold it to eat once it’s done. Top generously with cheese. Add peppers, onions and pepperonis. Bake in oven for 12-15 minutes or until crust is crisp and all cheese has melted. Remove from oven, slice and serve

- 1 box red velvet cake mix
- 3/4 cup melted butter
- 1 egg (egg substitute)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 jar storebought caramel topping

Preheat oven to 325°F. In a baking pan (preferably 9×13 for this), spray non-stick spray. In a bowl combine all wet ingredients (egg, butter, water). Then add cake mix. Using a mixer (or you can stir) combine all ingredients until all lumps are gone and it’s a smooth batter. Pour into pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Once brownies are done remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Once it’s cooled using a tray or large plate, place on top of pan and flip over. It should come out smoothly. Here’s the easy part. Heat jar of caramel topping (most found in grocery stores come in microwaveable safe jars) for 25 seconds. Remove jar from microwave and pour about half the jar on top of brownies. Use a spatula to spread caramel evenly.

Allow to sit for about 10-15 more minutes to allow caramel to set. Then eat and enjoy.

My dad recently started a new job, however it’s up in San Francisco and we live in Orange County. So these days it’s pretty much my mom and myself except for when he comes home on the weekends. I usually get home late during the week and I HATE having to think of something to whip up to eat, so I’m always racking my brain on what can be quick, hearty yet delicious for my mom and myself.  So one night I made these Lasagna Rollups. I LOVE lasagna but if you’ve ever made it before you know that it takes quite a bit of preparation and baking time before you get a chance to eat it. By using individual lasagna strips and ingredients that were already in my fridge, I cut down this time by over half and it was just as good as if it sat there baking for a half hour.

- 5 lasagna strips (Note: This recipe makes makes 4 ’cause that’s how many I made; It’s individual servings so if you want to make more for yourself or others just add an additional Lasagna strip — I have 5 because I cooked one extra in case one of my other ones tore)
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 2 cups shredded cheese (I used Cheddar and Mozzarella)
- 1 cup ricotta cheese (we had full fat in our fridge but you can use skim or try it w/cottage cheese)
- 1/4 cup zucchini diced
- 1/4 cup broccoli chopped
- 1/2 cup mushrooms chopped
- 1/2 cup ground beef (optional – obv omit to make it veggie)
- 2 tbsp garlic minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- handful of fresh basil chopped
- salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Add 1 tbsp olive oil (this is so the lasagna won’t stick to each other in the pot — you can also spray a non-stick spray like PAM into the pot). Slowly add each strip to pot. In a separate pan heat on medium and add remaining olive oil and garlic. Allow the garlic to slightly cook for about a minute or so — you don’t want it to get brown or burnt. Add ground beef to pan and allow to cook until browned. While lasagna strips & beef are cooking in a separate bowl add ricotta, veggies, basil, salt and pepper. Fold all together until they are well combined. Once beef is done cooking add to ricotta and fold again.

Once lasagna strips are done cooking strain. Warm up sauce in the microwave. Spray a small casserole dish with non-stick spray. Lay down one lasagna strip. Take a scoop of the ricotta mixture and place at one end of the strip. leave enough room though at the end for when you. Roll it up and place the seam side down in the casserole dish. Repeat with remaining strips (including the extra cooked strip if you want). Ladle sauce across the top of each roll up and sprinkle generously with cheese. Place in oven for 10 minutes just to cook veggies and melt cheese.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Individual lasagnas voila!

Fried food. Who doesn’t love fried food? One fried food I had always wanted to try but never did because no one would suck up and share with me was fried pickles. It’s a Southern classic and I’ve always been intrigued. I mean I know you can fry just about anything, after all fairs deep fry Twinkies, Oreos and the like (neither of which I’ve tried yet for fear of artery blockage) but I decided if I wanted to try something so badly I was going to have to make it myself. I went on a frying spree throwing in onions and zucchini rounds as well.  Lucky for me, fried pickles are pretty tasty no need to fear ordering them anymore!

- 1/2 package tempura batter (can be found in grocery store)
- cold water as needed according to tempura instructions
- 2 cups panko bread crumbs
- 1 1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying
- 1 cup sliced onion rings
- 1 cup sliced zucchini rounds
- 1 cup sliced pickles (don’t do thin slices)
- salt and pepper to taste

In a bowl follow tempura batter instructions (usually will just entail mixing the tempura with water). Place oil in a frying pan. Put the pan on medium heat and allow oil to start getting hot. Depending on what kind of stove you have this can take a coupe to several minutes. Set up another bowl with panko bread crumbs. To check to see if the oil is ready take a tiny dollop of the batter and slowly drop into frying pan. If it floats to the top and the oil is bubbling then it’s ready.

Take a slice of each veggie, dip in tempura batter, roll around in panko bread crumbs and SLOWLY drop into frying pan. Let it fry for about a minute or so or until the outside is a nice golden brown. Remove from pan, shake off any excess oil and place onto a paper towel lined dish (this will allow it to absorb any remaining oil). Hit it with some salt and pepper. How quickly each piece will cook will be dependent on how thick each slice is. Remember the thicker it is the longer it will take. Also, don’t forget the more you put into the pan, the temperature of the oil will go down and it will take longer to cook so try and make sure you don’t overload your pan. Repeat the steps above as necessary for each veggie and then eat on up!

I love this dish because it’s filling and delicious and practically effortless to make.  The ingredients are so simple yet combined they bring so much flavor to the dish plus the acidity of the lemon cuts right through everything. It’s great for lunch or dinner and perfect in the summer since it is a cold dish.

- 1 package of orzo pasta
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup red onion diced
- 1/2 cup cucumber diced
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes chopped
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Drop in orzo and cook for 5-7 minutes or until al dente. Carefully strain (to be safe I would put a bowl underneath your strainer as orzo is pretty thin and small and can easily fall through strainer holes — you can scoop whatever drops in the bowl after straining)

Transfer strained orzo to a large bowl and allow to cool for 10 minutes occasionally stirring to release heat. Add olive oil and toss with orzo. Add lemon juice, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes & cheese and fold. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Serve cold

One of my recent obsessions has been gazpacho. If you don’t know what it is, it’s basically a Spanish tomato-based cold vegetable soup especially delicious during the hot summer months (i.e. now). I had never had it until about a month ago when a co-worker told me I could get some at a place called Le Pain Quotidien up in LA where we work. We made a trip there one day for lunch and I asked for extra avocado in mine (I’m a strong believer that avocado should be put in EVERYTHING). It was hands down one of the best things I’ve ever eaten and I try to eat it once a week if I can. I decided I would attempt to make this myself at home. I had a craving for tacos and coupled with my love for avocados, I decided to try an Avocado based gazpacho as opposed to tomato based. The results were nothing short of spectacular…

Avocado Gazpacho

Gazpacho is also one of the easiest and most flavorful things to make and doesn’t take long at all if you know what you want to put in it. It’s also completely vegan yet hearty enough to satisfy any appetite.

- 1/2 cup red bell pepper chopped
- 1/2 cup white onion chopped
- 1/2 cup zucchini chopped
- 1/2 cup yellow squash chopped
- 2 ripe avocados
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup corn kernels
- 1/2 cup red tomatoes diced
- 1 1/2 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 1 tbsp Anaheim chile diced (you can use serrano or even jalapeno depending on how spicy you want it to be)
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 2 1/2 cups ice cold water
- 1 tsp dried cumin (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
- sour cream (optional)
- Cotija cheese (optional)

Take the first 4 ingredients, throw them in the food processor and pulse for a few seconds to get finer bits of veggies.  Dump them into a bowl.  Add corn, tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, cumin and chile.  Take one avocado, remove pit, scoop out the flesh and dice.  Add diced avocado to the bowl.  Add lime juice and generous amounts of salt and some pepper to bowl.

Take the second avocado, remove pit and scoop out flesh into a food processor (or you can use a blender for this if you don’t have a food processor).  Add about 3/4 cup ice cold water and puree.  Add more water if it’s still chunky until you get a smooth texture.  Add puree to the rest of the ingredients.  Add the remaining water and whisk all the ingredients together.  If it’s too thick add more water but be careful not to over thin it.  Add any seasoning as necessary.

The ice water is good if you are planning to serve right away but if you’re able, place the gazpacho in the fridge for up to an hour before serving.  When ready to serve, ladle into bowls and top with dollop of sour cream and sprinkle Cotija cheese.

Serves 4-6

Tacos

Chipotle Black Beans, Potato & Roasted Poblano Taco
- corn tortillas
- 1 can black beans
- 1 chipotle pepper marinated in adobo sauce (available at your grocery store)
- 2 small potatoes
- 1 poblano pepper
- Cotija cheese (optional)
- sour cream (optional)

Heat a pan on medium heat.  Slightly drain black beans (otherwise they come heavily salted). Dump them into the pan and allow them to heat through. Carefully remove 1 chipotle pepper and dice (if you don’t want to touch it drop it in a small food processor and pulse for a few seconds to chop up — you can also remove any seeds this way to lighten the heat).  Add diced pepper to beans and stir.  Add any other spices or ingredients you normally like to put with beans (I kept it to just the pepper since it’s already very spicy and the adobo sauce is a nice smoky roasted flavor; plus black beans alone are pretty hearty and flavorful).

On a grill, or grill pan (or in my instance we have a gas stove i just used the stove top), heat to a high heat.  If you are fortunate to use a gas stove like myself you can turn it on medium and place the poblano pepper directly on top of the flames.  If you are using a grill pan wait until the grill is completely hot before putting the pepper on the grill.  It will just be a slower process but should also do the job.  Roast the pepper until most of the outside of the pepper is blackened.  Once you are finished set aside and allow it to cool for a few minutes.

Your beans should be done cooking at this point. Reduce to a light heat to allow them to stay warm.  Take your potatoes and wash them thoroughly and remove any rough spots and “eyes” on the skin. You may remove the skin if you like but I preferred to keep mine on. Wrap the potatoes in saran wrap and microwave for about 3-3 1/2 minutes until just slightly tender.  You don’t want them to be super soft and mushy.  Remove from microwave and take off saran wrap and allow them to cool.

Back to the pepper, start peeling outside of pepper until all roasted skin is gone.  Then dice the pepper as normal.  Once potatoes have cooled cut into small wedges.

In a small pan heat corn tortillas.  As each one is heated place beans, potatoes & roasted pepper. Sprinkle Cotija cheese and add a dollop of sour cream if desired.

Ground Beef (”Beef”), Grilled Veggie & Chipotle Salsa Taco
- corn tortillas
- 2 cups ground beef or Morningstar Crumbles
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning
- 3/4 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup sliced red pepper
- 1/2 cup sliced green pepper
- 1/4 cup sliced zucchini
- 1/4 cup sliced yellow squash
- 1/4 cup frozen corn kernels
- Cotija cheese (optional)

Chipotle Salsa
- 1 tomato cut into wedges
- 1/4 of a white onion
- 1 small chipotle pepper marinated in adobo sauce
- 1/2 garlic glove
- 1 tbsp cilantro
- 1 tbsp lemon juice

Heat a pan on medium-high heat.  Add beef (”beef”) to pan and allow to heat.  Add taco seasoning for some flavor.  In a separate pan, heat on medium and add olive oil.  Add squash, zucchini, peppers and corn kernels.  Cook for about 2 minutes or until veggies are slightly tender.

For salsa, using a food processor, add all ingredients and pulse 4 or 5 times.  If you’d like it less chunky then blend until smooth.

Remove beef and veggies from stove.  Heat corn tortillas as you would. Place beef in tortilla. Add veggies.  Dollop chipotle salsa on top (careful it’s spicy!). Grate Cotija cheese as desired.

Wil Andrews of Farewell

Food Is So Punk Rock: First off tell us who you are and where you are from

Wil: I am Wil I play guitar for the band Farewell and I’m from North Carolina

FISPR: Are you carnivore, vegetarian or a vegan?

W: Carnivore

FISPR: What’s your favorite genre of food?

W: Genre of food? Hmm…I like Italian a lot

FISPR: What do you like in Italian food?

W: Chicken Alfredo that’s my favorite. yeah. Pizza and Chicken alfredo. Oh and spaghetti.

(Buddy from the band interjects here): Tell them what you get at McDonald’s

W: Plain hamburger, medium fries..

Buddy: Just the bun and a sad little patty

W: Well you should see what I get for breakfast for breakfast it’s worse I just get the sausage patty alone

B: (laughing) he doesn’t even get any condiments!

W: I don’t like condiments

FISPR: How do you not like condiments?!

W: If you give me ketchup I’ll throw up and cry (laughs). I’m afraid of condiments.

FISPR: I’m going to write that in, that you’re afraid of condiments

W: do it. They freak me out.

FISPR: What is food fare like on the road? Do you guys bring your own food? And if so what is a staple on the van?

W: I don’t normally bring food on the road. Everyone else likes to go grocery shopping.

(random fan interjects): What about the Subway sandwich that’s been sitting in the van for days

W: Actually someone took it out today..but umm anyway yeah back to your question everyone else likes to bring food on the road but I don’t I eat a TON of fast food

FISPR: Yet you are still as thin as a toothpick

W: Yup!

FISPR: Is there a city or place you HAVE to stop at when you’re on the road?

W: Umm..when we go through North Carolina I have to stop and eat my mom’s cooking. You know it’s my mom

FISPR: Well I’m wondering about OTHER than at your family’s

W: Oh oh..hmm let me think (pauses) we ate a place called Fred 62 in L.A. one time it was really really good so I like it there.

FISPR: Well since you’re such a fast food connoisseur, do you have any regional fast food favorites? I.e. how Texas has Taco Cabana, California and a couple other states have In-N-Out etc.?

W: I don’t know if this is completely regional but I don’t see Chick-Fil-A that often

FISPR: Chick-Fil-A is my most favorite-st fast food place and they barely have any in California

W: Right? I usually see a lot when we’re on the road so that’s my favorite

FISPR: What was the last meal you just had?

W: A BBQ Chicken sandwich, fries and a medium Coke from Carl’s Jr.

FISPR: What’s the worst thing you’ve ever eaten?

W: The worst thing I ever ate was Thai food today.. it was sooo bad.

FISPR: What did you get that was so bad?

W: Pad Thai, there was just too much peanut in it. I like peanuts but there was just a lot. I was not a fan

(random interjection): If you’re ok with peanuts next time try a Chicken Satay it comes with like a peanut sauce

W: Yeah I don’t know if I’m going to be eating much Thai again

FISPR: What is North Carolina known for food wise? Is there anything prevalent there like how diners are all over the East coast or how Philly has the cheesesteak?

W: In North Carolina there’s a lot of BBQ places. Everywhere you go there’s tons of place to eat BBQ

FISPR: Do you have a favorite place to eat in North Carolina?

W: There’s a place right by my house called Gordy’s that I like to go to

FISPR: What makes it so good? Like if I went there what would you recommend I get?

W: Their fried chicken sandwich is amazing and it comes with crinkly fries and it’s my most favorite ever and that’s what I would tell you to get if you went there.

FISPR: And also you like your mom’s cooking like you mentioned earlier

W: Yes definitely my mom’s cooking

FISPR: How about you, do you like to cook at all?

W: I don’t really know how to cook. I mean I can make soup and macaroni & cheese but that’s the only things I can cook

FISPR: If you had to eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?

W: Velveeta Cheese and shells. It’s one of my favorite meals.

(random interjection): You would pick Velveeta and not Kraft?!

W: Velveeta all the way dude!

FISPR: If you opened your own restaurant right now what would the menu consist of?

W: It would have: pizza, burger, fries, macaroni & cheese — straight to the point. Everything in there would be plain — no mayo, no lettuce, no tomatoes — everything would come to you plain no condiments or anything. If you want any of the stuff on it you can ask. I hate when people ask to take that stuff out of it.

FISPR: I have a friend who’s just like you; if she gets a burger it has to be plain

W: Yeah it should just be the buns and a patty.

FISPR: Well this has definitely been interesting do you have any final thoughts?

W: I’m a weird kid but I like stuff plain.

Be sure to pick up Farewell’s newest album: Run It Up The Flagpole available now through Epitaph Records. For more info on the band visit: www.myspace.com/farewell