Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 21, 2012

9

GOOD FOOD & DRINK

Mountain Views News Saturday, January 21, 2012

 Mountain Views News Saturday, January 21, 2012 


A letter delivered to Table for Two.

I am fond of getting letters but I never receive 
any letters from a beautiful lady with a picture 
enclosed. Oh well, I guess the humor and 
pointed comments that I receive will have to 
suffice. Here are a couple emails that were sent to 
thechefknows@yahoo.com this week and added 
a touch of humor to my week.

 

Brandon from Temple City sends a joke to me. 
“Dear Peter, what do you call the people that use 
Groupon?”

Hmmm, I’m not sure Brandon, what do you 
call the people that use Groupon? 

A: Group Hoopers.

I guess I’ve heard of Groupon users being called 
a Grouphop. 

Writers Note on these ……

40 percent incremental costs (mostly food)this 
is the reported food cost of an item on a restaurant 
menu that the restaurant pays including labor. 

Customer typically spends about 20% over 
the value of Groupon (There is little value to the 
restaurant).

. 85 percent of coupons are redeemed.

. 40 percent are used by existing customers (I 
like this).

. Two are bought per customer.

10 percent come back again — or send friends. (I 
don’t see that as significant value to the restaurant 
in marketing expense to ratio of customers)

My next email comes from Steve A. in Arcadia.

“Peter, I’ll often go to a restaurant that has open 
hours posted on a website and we get there they 
are closed. Why is that?”

 

I fall for that myself sometimes as well. As I often 
say in my reviews, no matter what the website 
says or a current menu, I suggest you always call 
the restaurant to be sure they are open. With the 
economy being tough, many of the Mom and Pop 
restaurants that I have spoken to say they just 
can’t afford 
to keep 
the doors 
open when 
there are 
no dollars 
in the 
building. 
Corporate 
chains 
aren’t so 
flexible; 
you can 
usually rely 
on them to 
keep the stove hot until closing time. Across the 
board at least the opening time are generally firm. 
Hope that helps!!! 

Pasadena Pinot Fest is here….. Mark your 
Calendar and call for tickets (626)795-7199. The 
event is going now until February11th, costs 
range from $15 to $89. 

For more fun conversation please tune into 
Dining with Dills on KABC Talk Radio each 
weekend, listen live to www.kabc.com for exact 
times.

CARNE GUISADO


Serve this beef stew with warm flour tortillas and hot cooked rice.

Ingredients:

1 pound stew beef

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons tomato paste

10 1/2 ounces condensed beef broth, undiluted

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 or 2 small jalapeno or serrano chile peppers, chopped

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons cornstarch, dissolved in a small amount of cold water

DIRECTIONS:

Brown meat in oil on all sides. Pour off excess grease. Add tomato paste [optional], beef 
broth, salt and pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, chile peppers, and water. Cover and cook 
on low for 8 to 12 hours, or until meat is very tender. Turn to high and dissolve about 2 
teaspoons of cornstarch in small amount of cold water and slowly pour into stew, which is 
simmering, until proper thickness of gravy is obtained. Serve with rice and warm tortillas, 
if desired. 

Serves 4.

 

TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills

thechefknows@yahoo.com


SIERRA MADRE CIVIC CLUB 
COOK BOOK

 What do you ask when you hear that some 
of the finest cooks in Sierra Made have 
published a cookbook? You ask where to get 
one, of course. Well, members of the Sierra 
Madre Civic Club have published a collection 
of their best recipes for hors d’oeuvres, soups, 
salads, entrees, breads, vegetable dishes, side 
dishes, relishes, sauces, and brunch items in 
a volume entitled Recipes We Proudly Share. 

The collection can be purchased for $15 at 
Arnold’s Hardware and Savor the Flavor or 
by calling 792-0852 or 355-7880.

The Sierra Madre Civic Club is a non-
profit, philanthropic organization that last 
year donated more than $20,000 back to 
the community in the form of educational 
scholarships and grants to such organizations 
as the Sierra Madre Rose Float Association, 
the library’s One Book One City Program, 
Sierra Madre Elementary School, Creative 
Arts, and the Sierra Madre Playhouse. 
Proceeds from the sale of the cookbooks 
become part of the philanthropy fund. 

So do yourself and your community a favor 
and get your own copy of Recipes We Proudly 
Share. We hope you’ll find, as many others 
have, that once you’ve bought one copy, you’ll 
be back to buy additional ones for sisters, 
cousins, friends, and neighbors who’ve asked 
you where you got that recipe for the delicious 
dish you’ve served.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

SMCC Publishes Cookbook


SEAN’S SHAMELESS 
REVIEWS:

FIRST AID KIT


Swedish sisters, 
Johanna and Klara 
Söderberg make 
the up folk pair, 
First Aid Kit. After 
much critical acclaim for their 2010 record, “The 
Big Black & The Blue”, the young siblings return 
with their follow-up, “The Lion’s Roar”. The new 
record is a collection of deeply sullen folk tunes 
that showcases beauteous harmonies and woodsy 
arrangements. Fans of Fleet Foxes should feel 
right at home with First Aid Kit, who ironically 
covered their song “Tiger Mountain Peasant 
Song” a few years ago that set the blogsphere on 
fire. Honestly, I’ve never been a huge enthusiast of 
folk rock. There are plenty of bands in the genre 
that frankly sound exactly the same and offer 
very little difference from one another. However, 
First Aid Kit doesn’t seem much like imitators, 
but innovators. While dull moments sometimes 
arise, it’s the aching lyrics and brutal honesty 
implanted within each song that lifts First Aid 
Kid from an inferior girl group to a superior 
dynamic duo. 

When I first think about folk rock in today’s 
music, what comes to mind are bands mimicking 
artists from another era. Often their songs sound 
just like the ones from that period in time, but 
only more polished. The biggest problem with 
today’s folk music is merely the fact you must 
be in the mood for it. The atmosphere is often 
dreary with distinctive storytelling ranging from 
anecdotes of mountains and cabins to the man 
you’re supposed to be to anything Americana 
related. First Aid Kit does a marvelous job having 
me believe their making music for tomorrow not 
today and certainly not yesterday. “In The Hearts 
Of Men” is solemn but immaculate. It’ll carry 
you away on its shoulders and take you to a fond 
memory; one that you wish will never fade away. 
“Emmylou” is romantic and as tender as the love 
it speaks of. The lyrics for “Blue” are wistful, but 
the song swiftly moves along and may be the most 
joyous of the bunch. 

Little can be said the same for the finale song, 
“King Of The World”, which feels strangely out 
of place, especially with Conor Oberst from the 
band Bright Eyes on guest vocals. Something 
about the song struck me the wrong way, which 
led to my realization that this is definitely the 
filler song off the record. Despite my strong 
disliking to the closer, the nine prior songs are 
either pretty good or really wonderful. There not 
all downers, but the best ones are. First Aid Kit 
doesn’t knock it out of the park on each track, but 
the songs all have stark moments of bliss, true 
significance and dazzling arrangements. For fans 
of the persuasion, you really can’t ask for much 
more. And for non-supporters of this resonance, 
“The Lion’s Roar” may just be the surprise you’ve 
been truly hoping for all along. 

Artist: First Aid Kit

Album: The Lion’s Roar

Label: Wichita Recordings

Release Date: January 17, 2012

Key Tracks: “Emmylou”, “In The Hearts 
Of Men”, “Blue”

Grade: 7.5 out of 10