In the Kitchen: Of radishes and rolling pins

Newsletter: In the Kitchen: Of radishes and rolling pins

April 8, 2015 12:05 AM PT

Bob Carlos Clarke

Faithful readers:

Welcome to another Wednesday cooking newsletter. Did you enjoy your Easter lamb? Did you love your annual Passover matzo brei? Were the hard-boiled eggs as perfect as you’d hoped? In this week’s missive, we’ll fill you in on some of our favorite places to shop, brief you on what to look for in a rolling pin, tell you about a great program to bring fresh produce to the poor and introduce you to the jazzy side of the radish.

— Russ Parsons

'White Heat' returns

One of the most influential modern cookbooks is one that you may well have never heard of and almost certainly have never cooked from. But you can bet that the tattooed young chef preparing your dinner knows about it. Marco Pierre White was the original bad boy chef, and Bob Carlos Clarke’s evocative black-and-white photos of him in “White Heat” have inspired generations of rebel cooks. Now the book is being reissued in a 25th anniversary hardcover edition.

Cheesemongers owners Chaz Christianson and Kia Burton. The cheese shop will open in Sherman Oaks on Wednesday.

Laura Velkei

Three terrific new places to buy meat, cheese and ice cream

Food shopping just keeps getting better. Three new spots have just opened that you really need to check out.

In Santa Monica, the newest outlet of Belcampo Meats has just opened. This 1,000-square-foot flagship includes not only a full butcher shop featuring meats raised and butchered by this innovative pasture-to-table company but also a full-service restaurant with the same meats and even a bar (no meat involved that we can detect).

Meanwhile, up in the Valley, a terrific new cheese shop has opened in Sherman Oaks. Cheesemongers, run by Chaz Christianson and Kia Burton, offers a full run of cut-to-order cheeses and charcuterie.

And in Los Feliz, Midwestern ice cream magnate Jenni Britton Bauer has opened one of her Jenni’s Splendid Ice Cream stores. She tells our Jenn Harris that she came to her ice cream career in an unusual way — out of a love for pastry, art and perfume.

A new Department of Agriculture grant will help low-income shoppers buy at farmers markets.

Richard Vogel / Associated Press

$1 million in fresh produce to SoCal’s poor

Farmers markets have gotten the reputation of being the hangouts of chefs and indulgent cooks. But in Southern California, they have a long history of serving low-income shoppers as well — bringing fresh produce to underserved areas. That effort got a boost last week as the U.S. Department of Agriculture kicked in $1 million to the Market Match program for the area.

Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times

What to look for in a rolling pin

How many rolling pins do you have in your cupboard? I’ve got at least a half-dozen — partly because I like them and partly because it took a while to find exactly the right one. L.A. Times Test Kitchen Director Noelle Carter can save you a lot of trouble (and cupboard space) with this handy guide to one of the most essential kitchen tools.

Sauteed rex sole with spring vegetable salad in bacon vinaigrette

Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times

Radishes step into the spotlight

Finally, when was the last time you gave a second thought to the radish? Huh? They deserve a little more love than that. Here are 12 recipes that will show you why.