J'Adore

Merry Christmas!   This past week has been a truly festive one. We celebrated our birthday (most of you know I have a twin sister) with a Korean BBQ dinner at Genwa.

photo via @boosimms

Followed by the fanciest Gin & Tonics (ever) at Jose Andre's Bar Centro at the SLS Hotel. 

"The Ultimate Gin & Tonic"

We also had our Apples and Onions LA team holiday dinner at one of my local favorites, Tar & Roses. GM Johnnie and Chef Andrew made sure the evening was exceedingly fabulous. We loved the smokey pasta carbonara and bright yellowtail crudo along with the always delish whole fried snapper. 

Billecart-Salmon toast

Pasta Carbonara with Soft Egg and Smokey Pancetta

Yellowtail Crudo with Winter Citrus and Chile

 I flew into Portland a couple of days ago and took a drive out to the coast to meet up with my family for Christmas. Looking forward to a cozy week by the seashore. 

Haystack Rock just outside the backdoor of our house

I always bring a book along when traveling and this week it's Clean Gut by Alejandro Junger. This book is the perfect source of inspiration for a 21-day cleanse come January 2014. 

For Christmas Eve dinner we picked up some beautiful local Dungeness Crabs from a little shop in Seaside (the town just north of Cannon Beach) called Bell Buoy. 

The Result? A Thai-inspired dinner that started with a hearts of romaine salad topped with shaved radish, hard-boiled eggs, and peanut dressing. Next, local clams steamed in a spicy coconut soup and then the Black Bean Garlic & Ginger Crabs for the main event. 

Looking forward to a clam hunt on the beach and excessive amounts of family time over the next couple of days .  Wishing you and your family a beautiful holiday!!