Gangsta Chef

"L.A. Son - My Life, My City, My Food" by Roy Choi   An Anthony Bourdain Book *   340 pages   $29.99

If I saw Choi, out on the street, nowhere near any of his various restaurants, I think I'd walk just a little faster and maybe cross the street.  He does not look approachable; he looks like a gangbanger.  Baggy shorts, baseball hat, body covered in tats ... and a real toilet tongue.  The book is generously laced with the F Word.  I am certainly not a prude (and have the vocabulary to prove it) but 340 pages of gangsta talk and idioms - I'm tawkin' to you, homie - would be wearying for a "nice" person. 

That said, he does have some interesting recipes. 

LA CORNER ON THE COB
4 ears of corn, shucked,  with a chopstick or skewer stuck in one end to serve as a handle. 
3 T vegetable oil
2 T softened butter
Pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
1 cup grated Cotija cheese
Pinch of cayenne
2 limes, halved

Heat the griddle with the oil, slather the butter on the corn and brown the corn.  When it's done, mayo them and shower with the cheese - the ears should be completely covered in cheese.  Dust them with the cayenne and lime juice.

WATERMELON AND GOAT CHEESE
1/2 watermelon, sliced
Pinch of salt
1 lime, halved
1 cup goat cheese
Cracked black pepper
1/2 cup toasted cashews
2 T extra virgin olive oil

Season the watermelon with salt and lime juice; crumble the goat cheese all over it and add the pepper, cashews and olive oil.

BUTTER PINEAPPLE
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2 in. rings
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup rum
Splash of orange juice
2 T butter

Caramelize the pineapple rings in the skillet or griddle.  When they're done, add the sugar and caramelize just slightly and then deglaze with the rum.  Add a splash of orange juice and eat.

*  Who knew Anthony Bourdain is now a publisher?