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Di's Spicy BBQ Surf&Turf with Citrus
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A permanent resident on my BarComida small plates blackboard menu is Spicy Surf&Turf. It is made with a red chili sauce from a proprietary house recipe, to which I add garlic butter, citrus juice, and white wine. Steak and fresh shellfish settle very happily in all of that! Here is a variation you may love, to spice up your own grilled meats and seafood this summer. The stovetop rendition is equally delicious!
Spicy Citrus-BBQ Surf&Turf
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
4 Tbsp favorite honey
Splash balsamic vinegar
Splash white wine
1/2 cup fresh orange juice*
1/2 tsp hot paprika**
1/4 tsp ground cumin**
generous grind of black pepper**
1/4 tsp salt**
1/4 tsp chili powder**
Whisk all ingredients for BBQ sauce, taste and adjust seasonings as desired; set aside.
* Any citrus juice or mix of juices may be used; orange and grapefruit are my favorites.
** In lieu of all ** ingredients, use desired amount of your favorite BBQ seasoning blend.
Garlic Butter
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
Combine ingredients for garlic butter. Coat grill with oil or cooking spray, and prepare grill for medium-high heat. Place the following on grill; brush with garlic butter to begin cooking:
4 petite filet mignon steaks (4-6 oz each)
12 large shrimp, peeled, deveined
Grill steak and shrimp to desired doneness (typically 4-6 minutes each side for steak; 2-3 minutes each side for shrimp), basting with citrus-y barbeque sauce. Enjoy with your favorite summer sides!
For stovetop rendition ~
Warm garlic butter in large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cook steak and shrimp, turning once, until just cooked. (Cook steak first; add shrimp after 2-3 minutes. If pan requires more fat, add olive oil.) Add bbq sauce to skillet, heat through to finish cooking steak and shrimp.
Yields 4 servings.
Notes ~
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OLD PASADENA SUMMER FILM FESTIVAL
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Our good friends at Old Pasadena Management proudly present the Old Pasadena Film Festival,on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays in July. Featuring multiple screenings, the Old Pasadena Film Festival is the largest free outdoor film festival in Southern California! All screenings, appearances and events are free and open to the public; click on logo for more info!  Old Pasadena features more than 100 restaurants within its 22 historic blocks. In addition to the exquisite selections offered by our own Tour merchants, the incomparable Chef Laurent Quenioux at Vertical Wine Bistro offers a "Picnic in the Park" menu, with amazing cuisine and international wines, all good to-go. We hope you'll enjoy this unique summer opportunity for dinner-and-a-movie under the stars! |
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Summer Reflections
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Drinks at the Roosevelt Hotel's Library Bar are mixed with fresh ingredients and fantastic flair. Apricots, lemon balm, thyme and jalapenos are just some of the items you may find on the colorful and fragrant bar. The mixologist makes drinks to order depending on your whim and may proffer an apricot (as he did last time I was there)-the most succulent, sweet and flavorful apricot I've ever tasted, perhaps the only apricot I've ever eaten that really tasted like one. He told me these apricots were only available for three weeks and could be found at the local farmer's market. 
Inspired by the bartender's recommendation, I bought two pounds of similar-looking apricots from the Grand Central Market. They weren't nearly as flavorful so I decided to poach them. Pitted halves simmered slightly in water, sugar, vanilla bean, lemon zest and a pinch of salt made for an excellent, delicately flavored dessert.
So whatever your fancy-in a drink or as a dessert--now's the time to get California apricots. The season only lasts until the end of August!
Visit Summer's blog and contact her via email to learn more of her world travels, custom tours, and insights on music, culture, art.
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 It's our birthday!
Here we are - with our
sunshine, baseball, family, juicy fruits, crunchy salads ... things that we just love about summer. Comfortable, mild and sunny temperatures allow for the most delicious, simple outdoor fun ... evening concert picnics, backyard barbeques, patio dining by candlelight, and of course, walking-tasting tours!
It's our birthday #4 this summer, and we are excited and grateful to drop in for this newsy edition. We have a delicious spiced-up recipe to compliment Kendall's eco-minded article on seasonings, and Summer's new "Reflections" share her inspired experience with ambrosial apricots. There's a new LA Metro Line that will take you right to ancient Egypt ;-) and Old Pasadena's Summer Film Festival is underway, which we hope will entice movie outings under the stars!
Read on for our very special birthday message to you, sent with the sincerest of appreciation. We hope you and yours continue to enjoy a summer filled with all things bright, beautiful, and of course, delicious!
Warmest regards, Lisa Scalia Diane Scalia
Proprietor Tour MaestraYour Melting Pot Food Tours hosts
P.S. Do you have family and friends visting this summer? Why not book yourselves - or even just them - on a Melting Pot Food Tour? We'll entertain them for half a day and feed them too! Tours available weekdays and weekends alike - be sure to book early to get the date you want, & leave the entertaining to us!
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Did you know ... 
According to traditional Indian medicine, Ayurveda, it is important to use cooling herbs and spices during the summer months, to avoid excess internal heat in the body. This 5,000-year-old philosophy recommends organic mint, fennel seed, dill, cumin, turmeric, ginger, cardamon, fresh cilantro, and fresh basil, to help you cool off this summer. This fascinating page gives simple tips on how to incorporate more of each into your summer dining ~ enjoy, and stay cool!
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Special Happy Birthday Greetings, to You! 
As the original food tours company in LA, we have loved these four fabulous years of hosting you and yours. Bringing our great City of Angels to vivid life through its food and stories, and honoring it as a world-class culinary destination, feels like a true privilege to us. We are profoundly appreciative of your love and support as we celebrate, and as we move onward with pride and joy! On behalf of our extraordinary tour leaders Kendall, Summer, and Barbara, and from our hearts, thank you!
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Kendall's Inspiration for Spice Cupboards
Have you recently looked in your spice cupboard? I mean, really looked. Do you use all those spices? Do you know their expiration date? Are they freshly ground? Organic? Most of these questions had never occurred to me until I participated in an International Spices class at Surfas in Culver City. One of the first things we did was to smell some just-opened, freshly ground paprika. Wow! It was smoky and pungent, very different from what I buy in the grocery store. As the instructor explained, the latter are often already dead, which means they are largely flavorless. In addition, if they are not organic, they've most likely been sterilized via fumigation (with chemicals) or irradiation (causing flavor loss). At the same time, a number of our grocery store spices end up sitting around long past their expiration date, which is 2 years for ground spices and 5 years for fresh. Of course, that is only when they are stored properly - in airtight containers away from heat and in a cool, dry place. And then, there is the issue of disposal. How many of our bottles end up in the trashcan or, at the very best, in the recycle bin when they could have been washed and reused? Unfortunately, my current spice cupboard has fallen victim to all these accusations. But being eco-minded, I am thinking about how to make a change. By purchasing freshly ground spices in small quantities from stores that offer refill packets, I can flavor my food while reducing my clutter. In addition to Surfas, Mountain Rose Herbs offers organic, fair-trade herbs and spices in recycled and non-toxic packaging. I can't wait to get started.
Newsflash! Tour Guide, Kendall, launches online campaign to create a green travel web series - Arising from her passion for travel and sustainability, Kendall is raising funds to create The Green Globetrotter, her very own web series. She has until August 8th to raise $200,000. Learn more and help support her here!
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New Metro Silver Line, and Cleopatra!
The new Metro Silver Line now connects the South Bay and the San Gabriel Valley to Downtown LA seven days a week. With service every 5-10 minutes during weekday rush hours, we love saving time as the Silver Line zips by traffic.
You too, might love the Silver Line's frequent, direct connections to downtown landmarks, including all of these!
- LA Convention Center
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STAPLES Center
- Fashion District
- sMOCA
- L.A. LIVE
- California Science Center
- USC
- Los Angeles Coliseum
- Walt Disney Concert Hall
Di took the Silver Line from the Green Line in Redondo just this week, to meet a friend in downtown LA at rush hour. The comfortable, air-conditioned bus ride was fabulous!
Here's a great way to try out the Silver Line! Ride in comfort, avoid parking charges, and enjoy a great once-in-a-lifetime cultural experience! The Cleopatra: The Exhibition, now at the California Science Center, is a fabulous way for all ages to "explore" ancient Egypt.  Special discounts for both the exhibit and the IMAX "Mysteries of Egypt" experience are available to Metro riders! Find out about all of that right here.
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Gift Certificates available year round
Know someone moving to the neighborhood this summer? Need a great gift for the newly relocated family or graduate? Rather than take them to dinner at just one local restaurant, treat them to a whole bunch of great places to dine in their new locale with a Melting Pot Food Tours gift certificate. Simple to arrange and available on short notice, gift certificates are available for purchase online or by calling us at 424-247-9666. And keep in mind our gift certificates never expire!
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About Melting Pot Food Tours
 Melting Pot Food Tours is the premier food tour company in the Los Angeles area. Sisters and co-founders Lisa & Diane Scalia are L.A. natives and lifelong residents of Italian descent who truly 'live to eat'. Lisa, a caterer and private tour guide, and Diane, a professional chef, cookbook author, and food writer, together have over 25 years of combined experience in the food industry and the culinary arts.
Given their lifetimes of experience living and working in the Los Angeles area, the Scalia sisters are particularly well-qualified to select the most interesting and intriguing neighborhoods in the city and surrounding communities in which to conduct food tours. Their careful selection of locales for their tours ensure their guests an entertaining, fulfilling and memorable culinary experience.
Melting Pot Food Tours started in June 2008, the first tour company of its kind in southern California, and since that time has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, CBS-TV news, Los Angeles Magazine, CNN News Headlines local edition, AAA Westways magazine, AARP Magazine and AARP Online, Daily Candy, Tasting Table, AAA World magazine, the KTLA morning news with Gayle Anderson, the Los Angeles Daily News, the Pasadena Star News, Arroyo Monthly, KCAL-9 So Cal Now television, 830AM radio, and WHERE Los Angeles. It is also consistently one of the top tours in Los Angeles on Trip Advisor.
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