DOING IT RIGHT

Secrets from butchers, bakers, and smoothie makers

PHOTOS BY NOUSHIN NOURIZADEH

Have you ever marveled at the fluffiness of a pizza crust or the way a piece of meat melts in your mouth and wondered why it tastes so good? We have, so we sent our foodie patrol about town to find out. Now we can tell you in this new feature: Epicurious. Whatever the food, it’s all about ingredients, technique, and authenticity.

CROISSANTS
Annie Benaroch, owner of the recently opened Parisien Gourmandises located inside La Jolla’s Floral Palette, says the quality of butter and a very precise technique are the keys to the flavor and texture of an exquisite croissant. Lamination, the process of repeatedly folding and rolling the butter into the dough, creates super-thin layers. The technique must be exact from the moment the dough is started. The temperature of the ingredients, the way they are handled, the temperature of the oven, and how long they bake are what give croissants their unique texture. “Lightly crispy on the outside, and flaky, fluffy layers inside,” Annie says. Offering a variety of delightful flavors including pistachio, raspberry, chocolate almond, and seasonally inspired flavors, Parisien Gourmandises makes the most beautiful croissants we have ever seen.

CHARCUTERIE
When Bobby Kokinda and Shannon Nault, owners of OB Meat Company, added charcuterie boards to their menu, they sampled meats from sources around the world. As a meat shop, they want customers to have access to the best of everything and after a lot of searching, they selected a few excellent purveyors. For example, Citterio, a family-owned Italian company, provides meats made in the original, authentic manner of their regions of origin in Italy. “You can just taste the difference,” Bobby says. The mortadella (origin: Bologna) is rich ground pork, polka-dotted with pork fat cubes and accents of fennel, red pepper, and other spices; the prosciutto (origin: Parma) is slowly dry-aged for one year or more; and the capicola (origin: Piacenza) from the area of the neck and head area of the pig, is fully slow aged for authentic flavor and tenderness. “Everything on our charcuterie board takes you for a ride,” Bobby says.

SMOOTHIES
The nutty flavor and creamy mouthfeel of almond milk makes it a great plant-based substitute for dairy, particularly when blended with other ingredients for a smoothie. First, almonds are soaked overnight in water and then mixed with water in a blender. At Elixir in Del Mar, they make their own “Almond Mylk” using purified Kangen water (a naturally alkalized, anti-inflammatory water) and blend it until as little almond meal as possible remains. The mixture is then transferred into cold press machines, which extract all the remaining almond meal residue. For smoothie milk, sugar, vanilla, and more Kangen water is added. The Matcha Mint Chip Smoothie, courtesy of Elixir, is made with Almond Mylk, banana, dates, matcha, fresh mint, hemp seeds, cacao nibs, and vanilla.

BEEF TENDERLOIN
This long, narrow, lean cut of beef is the most tender one that money can buy, but not all beef is equal. At La Jolla Gourmet Meats, the signature beef tenderloin comes from Brandt Beef. The Southern California family-owned company is committed to raising Holstein cattle on their ranch in the most conscientious way to provide the best quality beef on the market. The shop’s owner, Jeff Lefstein, says his customers appreciate the way he trims it down. “Beef tenderloin isn’t chewy, but it still has membranes, gristle, and silver skin,” Jeff says. He removes all of that, so there is no fat in it at all. Trimmed and tied, it’s very tender and flavorful. A customer favorite for holidays and special occasions.

NEAPOLITAN-STYLE PIZZA
A thin, soft, golden crust that bubbles up and is charred in spots, fresh toppings, and not too much cheese are the desired attributes of a Neapolitan-style pizza. They’re the specialty at Point Loma’s pizzeria, Pummarò. The technique starts with the ingredients. Neapolitan pizza uses only ultra-fresh locally grown vegetables, authentic Italian meats and cheeses, and extra virgin olive oil. At Pummarò, each batch of pizza dough rests between thirty-six and forty-eight hours to achieve a light and airy consistency in the crust. The pizzas are cooked at a high temperature in a wood-fired oven imported from Naples and ready to eat in a matter of minutes. How do you eat a piece of Neapolitan pizza? With a knife and fork, or simply fold it in your hand and lift it to your mouth.