Lounge preferences among apartment dwellers in Marina Del Rey

Leslie has a high rise apartment overlooking the Marina and fun friends, so her parties are always worth making the trek down the 405. She invited a group over on Memorial Day to lounge on her patio overlooking the Marina, and then lounge by the pool, and then lounge some more on the rooftop deck. When we weren’t lounging we examined the meaning of the patios lined up in a tidy row on the building next door. Bright primary colors indicate the presence of children, potted palms and a buddha suggest a quest for inner peace, several rows of pottery barn chaise lounges imply an aspirational lifestyle. Then it was time for dinner which included a pork shoulder braised with beer and herbs in a crock pot that’s almost as stylish as Leslie is (Hamilton Beach, about $50). She served it with black beans, cole slaw and green salad. Simple and delicious!

I brought the desert. I found a recipe in last week’s LA Times for a pavolva and 3 pints of strawberries from McGrath Farms waiting to be given their due, so why not? I reduced the amount of cornstarch used and halved the recipe. I used canned whipped cream and store bought lemon curd for the filling. Because of the reduced cornstarch, my meringue didn’t hold its shape, but it had a light, velvety mouth feel that was worth the sacrifice. Next time I’ll try cream of tartar or tapioca flour instead of cornstarch.

Use the left over egg yolks to make an aioli

First:

Preheat the oven to 350 F

Cut an 8 inch circle out of parchment paper and place on a cookie sheet.

Then on to the recipe:

Whip 5 egg whites on medium high in a stand mixer using the wisk attachment until they form stiff peaks

Add:

1 cup sugar, added in a steady stream to the egg whites at medium speed until incorporated

Then:

1 Tablespoon cornstarch until incorporated

Then:

1 tsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

Spread the meringue onto the parchment paper. Try to keep the sides high, with a slight indent in the middle. Place into the oven and then reduce the heat to 300F. Bake about 30 minutes, then look to see if the outer layer of the meringe is hardened. Cool in the oven with the heat turned off.

While the meringue is in the oven, prepare the strawberries, as many as you want ( a couple of pints probably) cutting them as you see fit, sprinkling them with a little sugar and balsamic vinegar. Set aside.

When ready to serve:

Combine 1/3 jar of lemon curd with some canned whipped cream (I used Land o Lakes light whipped cream). First whisk the lemon curd into a sauce, then fold in the whipped cream to taste.

Spread the lemon curd mixture into the center well of the meringue.

Pile the strawberries on top.

Cut wedges with a serrated knife.

It’s that simple and while it is being eaten, you will be beloved.

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On and about L.A., part deux

Last Wednesday, I went to Royce Hall, on the UCLA campus, to see Sylvie Guillem and Akram Khan perform a 75 minute work they call Sacred Monsters.

They are as unlikely a pair as could be. Guillem is the famous French Prima Ballerina discovered by Rudolph Nureyev, and Khan is a British-Asian dancer and choreographer known for fusing Western contemporary dance with Indian classical kathak. Tall, fair, impossibly narrow Sylvie is adored for her seemingly jointless body, amazing extension, feet to drive the fetishist mad with longing, and impeccable lyricism. Kahn is dark, compact, percussive, and his roots are firmly planted in classical Indian dance. But of course the pairing works; his dark to her light, her melody to his rhythm, ying meets yang – you get the idea.

At first I found myself wishing I’d seen Guillem in her hey day as a ballerina dancing Raymonda or Swan Lake. But then I realized I was watching something far more intimate and original, and I got lost in the pair’s remarkable pas de deux that seemed to cover the full range of human emotion in a light but still penetrating way.

It wasn’t a typical pas de deux by any means. Sometimes one performed solo as the other sat nearby on stage, sometimes they performed together, and at other time they performed at the same time, but apart from one another. At one point Guillem sat and braided her hair. At another the two chatted while mopping the floor by dragging towels around with their feet. But they always worked in relation to one another, as artists, as woman and man, as inhabitants of two distinctly different worlds reaching out to discover something new.

Through dance, dialogue and music they touched on themes of fame, doubt and expectation, and ended by performing what looked very much like children jumping rope.

I was disarmed completely and it was a fantastic ending to an otherwise tedious day. I drove home with my shoes off and the sun roof open . The moon was full and the music, a mesmerizing mix of live voice and Western and Eastern instruments, stayed with me the whole way home.

Here is video of Sylvie performing Raymonda:

 

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