Newsletter: Deviled eggs and bubbles for New Year’s Eve — and hangover food for the day after
While much of the rest of the country is enduring seriously cold temperatures, the end of the year in Southern California means, well, a little chilly by our standards. So maybe find a sweater and enjoy the last weekend of 2017 by cooking something comforting. You could also, of course, make some canapes for New Year’s Eve.
Speaking of that celebration, we have a dozen recipes for deviled eggs, a dish that many folks equate with cocktail parties, and a story about what bottles of bubbly you could bring to the table. If you’re spending your time watching bowl games (and yes, our own bowl game will be back next year), most party food works just as well for football as it does for clicking down the end of the year.
And then there is the morning after, which our restaurant critic addresses this week in lieu of a full review. Specifically, he recommends a list of dishes that might help your hangover — a list that operates pretty well as a menu for what to eat in the coming days, if not to cure whatever ails you, then to celebrate getting through a long and often troublesome year. Welcome the arrival of 2018 with a bowl of boat noodles, a plate of barbacoa, a vat of haejangguk — or whatever you’re having for dinner. Have a happy and safe holiday.
HANGOVER HELPER
There’s what to eat for the year-end celebration — and then there’s what to eat the morning after that celebration, especially if you’ve emptied one too many bottles. Jonathan Gold helpfully offers nine dishes that might do you — and your hangover — some good. From congee in the SGV to lamb barbacoa in Commerce, he has some favorite dishes to soothe your 2018. (Don’t drink? Some of us can attest that they’re also pretty miraculous if the only shots you’ve downed lately are of espresso.)
DEVILED EGGS, 12 WAYS
Still need something to make for your New Year’s Eve party? Deputy Food Editor Jenn Harris has a dozen recipes for deviled eggs, a dish she finds as crucial to a good year-end party as many folks find bottles of the fizzy stuff. The 12 recipes she’s compiled include those from a pretty impressive list of chefs and restaurants, and ingredients you might expect (caviar, uni) and ones you might not (kimchi, chicharrones). Maybe make a carton — not a bad serving tray.
NEW YEAR’S EVE BUBBLES
Wine writer Patrick Comiskey polls three local wine experts on what kind of bubbly they’d serve for New Year’s Eve — not a bad gig. Valentino proprietor Pierro Selvaggio will be pouring Prosecco; Danielle Francoise Fournier of Here’s Looking at You in Koreatown suggests a sparkling Chenin Blanc; and Henry Beylin of the Gjelina restaurants recommends Champagne, as well as a few ciders. There are more suggestions, and bottle sourcing.
OVER AND OUT
In her weekly food and drink news column, Jenn notes the closing of two local restaurants: Twohey’s in Alhambra, a neighborhood favorite for burgers, onion rings and hot fudge sundaes, open for over 75 years; and chef Ari Taymor’s Alma at the Standard. (The last service at the Standard is tomorrow night, if hay-roasted potatoes seem like a good pairing for your New Year’s Eve celebration.)
HOW TO BOIL AN EGG
Okay, so you’ve decided to make Daniel Patterson’s Everything Spice deviled eggs, or Josef Centeno’s deviled eggs with chicharrones — but first you have to boil the eggs, and then peel them without destroying them, a task that can often be harder than it should be. It’s just a boiled egg, right? Well, Test Kitchen Director Noelle Carter has a foolproof method for this.
Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants, the authoritative annual guide to local dining, is online for subscribers and now features his 2017 Best Restaurants. If you didn’t get a copy of the booklet, you can order one online here.
Goldbot: you can now talk to Jonathan Gold any time you want — or at least the robot version of him that now lives on Facebook Messenger. You can ask Goldbot for a personal restaurant recommendation based on location, type of food or price. The bot will also deliver Jonathan Gold’s latest reviews straight to your device.
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